Umrah pilgrims beware: These items can land you in trouble, Saudi Arabia warns overseas Muslims
Presence of any prohibited items in luggage exposes visitors to trouble, ministry says
Cairo: Saudi authorities have urged overseas Muslims planning to go on a trip to the kingdom to perform Umrah or lesser pilgrimage to avoid carrying prohibited items lest they should have legal trouble.
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah specified these items as fireworks, counterfeit currencies, unregistered drugs or narcotics, illegal eavesdropping devices violating privacy, speed radar detectors, electric shockers, harmful laser pens, and privacy-violating secret cameras.
“The presence of any such items in your luggage exposes you to trouble,” the ministry said on its X account, addressing pilgrims.
Umrah, which can be undertaken around the year, is performed in the Grand Mosque, Islam’s most sacred site in Mecca.
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The new season of Umrah got underway in Saudi Arabia in late June after the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage that around 1.8 million Muslims from across the globe attended.
The kingdom has introduced a host of facilities for overseas Muslims to come to the country to perform Umrah.
Muslims holding different types of entry visas such as the personal, visit and tourism visas are allowed to undertake Umrah and visit Al Rawda Al Sharifa, where the tomb of the Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is located at the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina after booking an e-appointment.
In yet a new facilitating step, Saudi Arabia said its citizens can apply to invite their friends abroad to visit the kingdom and undertake Umrah. Women pilgrims are no longer required to be escorted by male guardians.
Saudi authorities have extended the Umrah visa from 30 days to 90.
The kingdom has also said that expatriates residing in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are eligible to apply for a tourist visa, regardless of their profession, and be able to perform Umrah.