(MENAFN- Morocco World News) Saudi Arabia raised the visa fees for non-Saudi Hajj and Umrah pilgrims earlier this week.
The Saudi Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, chaired cabinet in Jeddah and announced a series of amendments. Among the announcement was a SAR 2,000 (roughly MAD 5,200) increase in first entry visa fees for non-Saudis wishing to perform the pilgrimage. The first clause of the draft released following the meeting specifies that first-time applicants will be exempt from this tax. The multiple exit re-entry visa fees also will increase, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). This increase depends on the period of the visa's validity: SAR 3,000 (MAD 7,800) for the six-month visa, SAR 5,000 (MAD 13.000) for the one year visa, and SAR 8000 (MAD 20,800) for the two-year visa. The multiple exit re-entry visa, as opposed to the single exit re-entry Visa, allows non-Saudi visitors to leave the country and enter as they please. The fourth clause of the draft mentions that visa fees for transit are now set at SAR 300 (MAD 780), whereas the fifth clause specifies that visa fees for people leaving the kingdom by seaports is SAR 50. The trip for 2016 pilgrimage season begins on August 23, and the last day in Mecca after Hajj is September 20 26,000 Moroccan pilgrims participated in last year's pilgrimage in 62 flights. 87 of these pilgrims fell victim to the deadly Mina Stampede. data-ad-client="ca-pub-9546318280945074" data-ad-slot="9241175969">
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