Latest updates from top global and Saudi news sources
Last updated: 26 Jul 2026, 11:37 AM (Saudi time)
Saudi Arabia's Jawazat now lets hosts extend single-entry and multiple-entry visit visas online through the Absher platform, provided the visitor is inside the kingdom with valid insurance and no unpaid fines.
Saudi Arabia's 2027 Hajj timeline requires roughly 1.5 doctors and 1.7 nurses per 1,000 pilgrims, routes service contracts and payments through the Nusuk e-wallet, and limits countries toward a single service provider.
A new Nusuk meal voucher of 20 Saudi riyals per day, embedded in the Umrah visa fee, will raise costs for pilgrims. It starts in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Egypt before a wider rollout.
Saudi Arabia has introduced a QR-code service giving pilgrims real-time crowd density in the Mataf and Masaa, helping them choose less congested times for Tawaf and Saai.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, with Saudi National Bank, has launched Nusuk Wallet, described as the first international digital wallet and bank card built for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.
Pakistan has sent the most Umrah pilgrims so far this season, ahead of Indonesia and Iraq, as Saudi Arabia records strong growth in arrivals for 1448 AH.
Saudi app Hudhud guides Umrah pilgrims through Makkah’s sacred and historic landscape Arab News
Kano Pilgrims’ Board returns N117m surplus from 2026 Hajj operations The Guardian Nigeria News
Saudi Arabia launches one-year multiple-entry Umrah visa for pilgrims Travel Tomorrow
Austrian politicians hope the change will prevent neo-Nazis from visiting the building as a place of pilgrimage.
Hajj packages: Airfare cut by Tk 24,830 Prothom Alo English
Now you can get multiple-entry Umrah visa valid for one year Time Out Riyadh