ISLAMABAD – Hajj Pilgrims face a setback from the Saudi Arabia government as the Kingdom has announced to significantly raise the visa fee.
The Saudi government has imposed an additional fee of 410 Riyals on the pilgrims for Hajj 2020. According to sources, Pakistani pilgrims will have to pay 300 Riyals as visa fee. Moreover, an amount of 110 Riyals will have to be paid as insurance along with the visa fee.
The Saudi government has rejected Ministry for Religious Affairs’s request to waive off the visa fee and insurance. It stated that the fee will be applicable to all Muslim countries, not Pakistan only.
With the increase in the expenses, the Hajj package rate has increased to over Rs 550,000. The Ministry of Religious Affairs has included the increase in the Hajj package.