Visitors must be fully vaccinated against coronavirus.
Saudi Arabia’s government has imposed age restrictions for international pilgrims intending to visit the kingdom to perform Umrah.
According to the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, visitors aged from 18 years to 50 years will be issued permits to perform the Umrah.
The ministry also said that the pilgrims must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus with vaccines recognized in Saudi Arabia.
They will have to present a vaccination certificate to obtain an electronic entry visa through the Saudi Foreign Ministry’s online platform.
In August this year, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health added Sinovac and Sinopharm to the list of approved COVID-19 vaccines, the Saudi Gazette reported.
Before this, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna were the only approved vaccines in the kingdom.
Last month, the country eased the restrictions in place to stop the spread of Covid-19 after a sharp decline in positive cases.
After the restrictions were eased, worshippers were no longer required to observe social distancing in the two holy mosques in Mecca and Medina. Both mosques were also opened at their full capacity for the visitors.
However, masks are still mandatory inside both mosques.
Last week, the ministry also introduced a new service that will issue permits to overseas pilgrims for rituals at Masjid al-Haram and the Masjid-e-Nabwi.
Overseas pilgrims can book their visits to both mosques using Eatmarna and Tawakkaln apps launched by the ministry
Those applying for permits on the app will have to first register on the Saudi Quddum platform. Only then they will be able to secure permits on the apps.
Only people with permits will be allowed to enter the two holy mosques after their immunity status is verified at the entrances.