JAKARTA. Director General of Hajj and Umrah Pilgrimage Affairs at Ministry of Religious Affairs Abdul Djamil confirmed that the first time travellers either for hajj and umrah will enjoy visa-free facility.
Recently, Saudi Arabia government released a new visa regulation. The new policy stipulates that travelers coming for either hajj or umrah will be charged a visa fee of 2,000 riyal or Rp 6.9 million, except for the first time pilgrims. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia government will also charge 3,000 riyal for a six month multiple-entry visa, and 8,000 riyal for a one year multiple-entry visa for non-pilgrimage visits.
However, Abdul Djamil predicted that the high visa costs will not affect to the pilgrims candidates, who are still on the waiting lists to depart to the Holy Land. In this case, government will prioritize first time pilgrims to depart for hajj pilgrimage.
The government recently has tightened the process for a Muslim wishing to perform the hajj for the second time. According to the latest data from Minister of Religious Affairs, the longest waiting time for pilgrims is 31 years.
Government also has built dialogues with Saudi Arabia government to return the previous pilgrims quota to 211,000. Currently, Saudi Arabia allocated 168,800 of pilgrims quota to Indonesia. “We will have the confirmation in 2017," Abdul Djamil said.
Some hajj and umrah travel agents have expressed their concerns over the new visa regulation. The new policy is predicted to decrease the number of hajj and umrah pilgrims by 30%.
