Saudi Arabia Temporarily Suspends Visas For 14 Countries, Including India, Egypt, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Iraq, in Efforts To Safeguard The Hajj Pilgrimage And Control Overcrowding

Published on April 7, 2025

Saudi Arabia has suspended Umrah, business, and family visit visas for 14 countries, including India, until mid-June 2025, to manage Hajj overcrowding and safety.

Saudi Arabia has announced a temporary suspension of Umrah, business, and family visit visas for citizens of 14 countries, including India, effective until mid-June 2025. This action aims to manage overcrowding and ensure safety during the Hajj season. The suspension is designed to curb unauthorized participation in Hajj by individuals who misuse other visas. Diplomatic and Hajj-specific visas will remain unaffected. Offenders who repeatedly violate the rules will face a five-year entry ban.

The suspension will be in effect until the end of the Hajj pilgrimage season, which concludes in June 2025. Authorities have set April 13, 2025, as the last date for issuing Umrah visas, and no new visas of these types will be granted to nationals of the affected countries until after the season.

The 14 countries affected by the visa suspension include: Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen.

India’s inclusion in this ban is primarily to address the misuse of Umrah and visit visas for unauthorized Hajj participation. Reports have highlighted that some individuals from India and other countries on the list have entered Saudi Arabia on such visas and overstayed to perform Hajj outside the official registration process. This bypasses the country’s quota system that regulates the number of pilgrims allowed from each nation.

In 2024, overcrowding and unsafe conditions at the Hajj led to the deaths of over 1,200 pilgrims, with many unregistered participants lacking access to essential services such as housing, transportation, and healthcare. These issues prompted the suspension as a safety measure.

The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has emphasized that this visa suspension is a response to logistical challenges and aims to improve safety and organization during the pilgrimage, rather than a diplomatic measure. Registered pilgrims will continue to receive their visas as planned, as diplomatic and Hajj-specific visas remain unaffected. Anyone found violating the rules, such as engaging in Hajj without authorization or overstaying their visa, will face a five-year ban from entering Saudi Arabia.

This visa suspension follows the temporary halt on one-year multiple-entry visas for the same countries, which was implemented in February 2025. The suspension strengthens this previous measure, further restricting access in preparation for Hajj 2025, scheduled from June 4 to 9.

The list of 14 countries impacted by the suspension is as follows, with Morocco frequently cited as the 14th country, although some reports mention only 13 nations:

• Algeria
• Bangladesh
• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• India
• Indonesia
• Iraq
• Jordan
• Morocco
• Nigeria
• Pakistan
• Sudan
• Tunisia
• Yemen