The Saudi Arabian authorities have said that the country will not be imposing restrictions on the number of pilgrims that will be permitted at the 2023 Hajj.
The news on the lifting of restrictions was announced by the Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Tawfiq AlRabiah, during the opening of the Conference and Exhibition for Hajj and Umrah Services.
At the Conference, the Minister said that the limits that have remained in place for the last few years to prevent the further spread of the Coronavirus pandemic will be dropped, VisaGuide.World reports.
“Number of Hajj pilgrims in 1444H will return to how it was before the Coronavirus pandemic without age restrictions,” the statement of Minister Tawfiq AlRabiah reads.
Doha News explains that in 2019 when there were no COVID restrictions in place, around 2.5 million people reached Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Nonetheless, the number significantly dropped as soon as restrictions were imposed to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.
Even though the restrictions were slightly relaxed in 2022, Saudi Arabia continued to keep in place the requirement to present proof of vaccination and recovery. In addition, in 2022, access was limited to pilgrims between the age of 18 and 65.
In contrast to last year, at this year’s Hajj, there will not be age restrictions, meaning that everyone will be permitted to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.
The Hajj season for this year is expected to start on June 26 and the country is anticipated to register a high number of pilgrims.
In order to improve the experience of pilgrims, Minister Tawfiq AlRabiah said that the price of the Umrah Insurance Certificate for pilgrims from abroad has dropped to around $23 from $62.
“Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is keen to improve the experience of pilgrims. Therefore, it reduced the Umrah Insurance Certificate’s price for pilgrims from abroad from 235.75 Saudi Riyals to 87.4 Saudi Riyals,” Minister Tawfiq AlRabiah stressed.
Moreover, the Minister said that Umrah visa holders can travel around Saudi Arabian cities and the same emphasized that the Umrah visa, whose validity has been extended from 30 to 90 days, can be issued in less than 24 hours
“To facilitate the arrival of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, KSA developed the biggest airport to serve pilgrims, King Abdulaziz international airport in Jeddah and Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz international airport in Madinah,” Minister Tawfiq AlRabiah added during the conference.
Every Muslim who has the financial means and is physically able is required to make the journey to Mecca for Hajj at least once in their lifetime.
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