Saudi Arabia to fine pilgrims $2,666 for attempting Ramadan Umrah without permits

Saudi Arabia to fine pilgrims $2,666 for attempting Ramadan Umrah without permits
April 9, 2021, 9:04 am

A handout picture provided by Saudi Ministry of Media on July 31, 2020 shows pilgrims circumambulating around the Kaaba, the holiest shrine in the Grand mosque in the holy Saudi city of Mecca. (AFP)

Saudi Arabia will impose a $2,666 (10,000 Saudi riyals) to those found attempting to perform Umrah during the Holy month of Ramadan without holding an official permit, according to a source from the Kingdom’s Ministry of Interior.

Saudi Arabia will grant permits for those wishing to perform Umrah or visit the holy sites during Ramadan on the condition they are vaccinated, according to a statement from the Kingdom’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.The ministry specified that those wishing to receive the permits must have taken two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and based on their immunized status on the Tawakkalna app. It specified that this also applies to a person who has been vaccinated 14 days after receiving the first dose or a vaccinated person who has recovered from being infected.“It has been decided that whoever found attempting to perform Umrah during the Holy Month of Ramadan without holding an official permit will be subject to a SR10,000 fine and whoever caught attempting to enter into the holy site of Mecca (Al-Haram Al-Makki) to pray without holding a permit will be subject to a SR1,000 fine. This penalty will be implemented until the pandemic is over and public life returns to normal,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted a Ministry of Interior source as saying.

“The source called on citizens and residents to abide by all the instructions requiring those wishing to perform Umrah or pray in the holy site of Makkah (Al-Haram Al-Makki) to obtain a permit, stressing that security personnel will carry out their duties in all roads, security control check points, sites and corridors leading to the central area surrounding the holy site of Makkah (Al-Haram Al-Makki) to prevent any attempt to violate the regulations in force,” the SPA report added.

Saudi Arabia’s General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque has decided to increase the capacity of the Grand Mosque in Mecca to 50,000 Umrah performers and 100,000 worshippers per day during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan for those who are vaccinated, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Tuesday.