Saudi Locked Umrah Visas to a Yearly Shawwal Freeze

Saudi Arabia stopped issuing Umrah visas on 20 March 2026, then required international pilgrims to leave by 18 April 2026. Those were the last gates of the 1447 season, not a one-time alert.

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah had already tied the close to 1 Shawwal and 15 Shawwal. In May it printed the same two Hijri gates on the 1448 calendar, with a slightly earlier exit.

The Three Hijri Gates of 1447

The ministry’s official 1447 Umrah calendar is the record that matters. Visa issue for people coming from outside the Kingdom started on 10 June 2025 (14 Dhu al-Hijjah 1446). Receiving those pilgrims started the next day, 11 June 2025.

The close ran in three steps. Last day to issue an Umrah visa: 20 March 2026, which is 1 Shawwal 1447, the first day of Eid al-Fitr. Last day for those pilgrims to enter the Kingdom: 3 April 2026 (15 Shawwal 1447). Last day for them to leave: 18 April 2026 (1 Dhu al-Qi’dah 1447).

Tour desks had been circulating a February notice on 1447 cutoffs that sat one Gregorian day earlier on the visa and entry gates. The ministry page is the one the airports and the Nusuk systems follow.

The 1448 season, already open, uses the same Shawwal stations and a different exit day.

THE 1447 AND 1448 FREEZE DATES

Visa issue and entry stay locked to 1 Shawwal and 15 Shawwal. The exit is the line that moved, from 1 Dhu al-Qi’dah in 1447 to 30 Shawwal in 1448.

Interior Closed Makkah to Non-Hajj Traffic

The calendar told pilgrims when to go home. The Ministry of Interior told the city when to shut. On 13 April 2026, five days before the Umrah exit, residents who wanted to enter Makkah needed a permit. People with a Makkah residency card, a Hajj permit, or an electronic work permit for the holy sites were excepted.

The final deadline for those arriving on Umrah visas to leave the Kingdom is Saturday, April 18, 2026 (Dhu Al-Qi’dah 1, 1447 AH).

Ministry of Interior, Interior Hajj season arrangements, 13 April 2026

That Interior Hajj season arrangements notice did more than empty hotel rooms. From 18 April 2026, holders of every other visa type were barred from entering or remaining in Makkah unless they held a Hajj visa. Nusuk Umrah permits for Saudi citizens, GCC nationals, residents, and other visa holders were switched off from 18 April 2026 until 31 May 2026.

HOW THE 1447 SEASON WAS CLEARED FOR HAJJ

1. 13 April 2026: Interior requires Makkah entry permits for residents, with listed exceptions.
2. 18 April 2026: Umrah visa holders must leave the Kingdom. Nusuk Umrah permits stop. Non-Hajj visas lose Makkah entry and stay.
3. 25 to 30 May 2026: Hajj rites run from 8 to 13 Dhu al-Hijjah 1447, with Arafah on 26 May and Eid al-Adha on 27 May.
4. 31 May 2026: Umrah visa issue and entry restart (14 Dhu al-Hijjah 1447). Nusuk permits for Makkah resume on 1 June.

Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah had already told licensed Umrah companies, at the ministry’s 17th meeting with them, that Hajj is not valid on an Umrah visa. The Interior order is how that line was policed at the city gates.

Green and Red Lights at Every Gate

Ramadan 1447 sat just in front of that freeze. The month began on 18 February 2026. Eid, and the visa cutoff, landed on 20 March 2026. The Grand Mosque was already running a capacity drill before Interior closed the city.

Illuminated signs at the main doors used a two-colour code. Green meant a sector still had room. Red meant that sector was full and worshippers were to be sent to another prayer area, another floor, or a courtyard. Security staff steered people toward open tawaf and sa’i space rather than letting a red door keep taking traffic.

The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques later kept the same idea in hardware. Electronic guidance screens at the gates and outer courtyards now show which entrance is open and how dense the Mataf and Masaa are, and they point visitors toward upper-floor doors when the ground level is packed. Main doors also use reader sensors and cameras to count Umrah performers as they enter.

A visa was never enough to walk in. The Nusuk app issues a timed digital permit and an electronic entry code. No permit, no entry, including for the Rawdah in Madinah. Private cars were kept out of central Makkah at peak hours, with pilgrims pushed onto buses and other public options.

Ramadan Issued 604,872 Umrah Visas

The ministry’s open data for 1447 AH, published 31 March 2026 and still posted, counts visas by Hijri month. The file is not a headcount of people inside the mosque. It is a count of visas the state was still willing to issue as the freeze approached.

1447 UMRAH VISAS BY MONTH

The ten rows add to 11,437,216 visas. Issue rose every month from the June 2025 opening through Sha’ban, then fell in Ramadan to 604,872, which is less than a third of the Sha’ban total of 1,875,922. The file stops at Ramadan because 1 Shawwal was the last legal issue day.

People who already held a Sha’ban visa could still arrive in Ramadan, subject to the 30-day entry window then in force. The Ramadan collapse is the state taking its foot off the visa printer while the mosque was already using red lights at the doors.

The No-Booking, No-Visa Rule

The freeze is seasonal. The booking rule is not. From the 1447 opening, an Umrah visa for an international pilgrim has been tied to a verified hotel stay and transport record on Nusuk before the visa is issued. A booking on a consumer hotel site does not clear that gate.

The ministry launched the Nusuk Umrah booking platform on 20 August 2025 as a direct path, in seven languages, for visa, rooms, transport, and extra tours, alongside accredited agents in the pilgrim’s own country. Integrated packages and à la carte services both sit on that track. The visa is the last step, not the first.

WHAT HAS TO BE IN PLACE BEFORE THE VISA

• Verified rooms: A prepaid stay in a Ministry of Tourism-licensed hotel in Makkah, Madinah, or both, logged on Nusuk Masar.
• Ground transport: Airport transfers and the Makkah-Madinah run booked through an approved provider.
• Booking reference: A Nusuk reference number that the visa file can attach to.
• Entry window: Under the 1447 rules, an unused visa lapsed if the holder had not entered within 30 days of issue; the stay after arrival could still run up to 90 days, until a freeze date cut it short.
• Mosque permit: A separate timed Nusuk permit, with its electronic code, is still required at the Grand Mosque even after the visa is stamped.

Paying for a package while the visa is still pending leaves the pilgrim carrying the loss if the file is later refused, which is why a cheap “visa only” quote is a warning, not a bargain. For some sending countries the file still has to move through an accredited agent listed on the platform. The 30-day unused-visa clock is the other trap: a visa issued on 1 March had to be used to enter by 30 March, or it died on the system.

When Does the 1448 Season Freeze?

The ministry posted the Umrah season calendar for 1448 on 17 May 2026, two weeks before Hajj ended. Visa issue and entry for the new season started on 31 May 2026. Pilgrims could enter Makkah and pull Nusuk permits from 1 June.

The close is already dated. Last visa issue: 9 March 2027 (1 Shawwal 1448). Last entry: 23 March 2027 (15 Shawwal 1448). Last departure: 7 April 2027 (30 Shawwal 1448). Companies and external agents were told to keep to those dates so the next Hajj intake has rooms, buses, and kitchen contracts waiting.

The prep calendar behind those gates started on 4 March 2026, when companies booked slots for preliminary deals with foreign agents. Agreements were signed on 30 March and 1 April. A lessons-learned workshop sat on 25 Shawwal. External-agent qualification and final contracts on the Electronic Path opened on 11 May 2026, with hotel, transport, catering, and package design contracts the next day.

That is the same machine that produced 20 March 2026. The next exam date is already on the wall: 9 March 2027 for new visas, 23 March 2027 for last arrival, 7 April 2027 for last departure.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Was the Last Day to Get an Umrah Visa Before Hajj 2026?

20 March 2026, which was 1 Shawwal 1447 and the first day of Eid al-Fitr, so new Umrah visa issue stopped as Eid began rather than after a long buffer into Shawwal.

When Did Umrah Visas Start Again After Hajj 2026?

Visa issue and entry restarted on 31 May 2026, and Nusuk Umrah permits for Makkah opened on 1 June 2026; the permit itself is a free, immediate booking on the Nusuk app or site, separate from the paid visa file.

What Are the Umrah Freeze Dates Before Hajj 2027?

Last visa issue is 9 March 2027, last entry is 23 March 2027, and last departure is 7 April 2027, with that exit set on 30 Shawwal 1448, one Hijri day before the 1 Dhu al-Qi’dah exit used in 1447.

Can You Perform Hajj on an Umrah Visa?

No. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah told licensed companies that Hajj requires a Hajj visa and a Hajj permit, and Interior barred every non-Hajj visa from Makkah from 18 April 2026 through the 1447 Hajj close.

Do You Need a Nusuk Permit If You Already Have an Umrah Visa?

Yes. The visa gets you into the Kingdom; the timed Nusuk permit and its electronic code are what the Grand Mosque and the Rawdah check at the door, and a Rawdah slot also carries a 30-day gap before the next visit can be booked.