Saudi Arabia has introduced measures to support Sudanese pilgrims who are unable to return to their home country due to the ongoing conflict.
The General Directorate of Passports has introduced a program to extend the visas of pilgrims affected by the Sudan conflict. Furthermore, this program allows them to prolong their stay in the Kingdom. The Administration of the Makkah Region confirmed this initiative in a recent advisory.
To provide assistance to the affected pilgrims, a special hosting service has been launched on the Ministry of Interior’s online Absher.SA platform. This service enables Saudi citizens and expatriates to act as hosts for Sudanese nationals and facilitate the conversion of their Umrah visas into “family visit visas or personal” visas. However, certain conditions must be met in order to qualify for this service.
To avail the hosting service, individuals need to log into the Absher.SA and follow the following steps
- Choose My Services.
- Select Passports
- Click on Communication
- Choose Visit Visas
- Under this tab, select the service: Request to host Umrah pilgrims (Sudanese).
- Attach a photo along with the expatriate’s passport and a copy of the entry visa
- Submit the application from the host’s account
- Provide a brief explanation of the application as required.
