Doha/Makkah: In a double bonanza for football fans, Saudi Arabia has announced that Muslims who have FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tickets will be allowed to enter the Kingdom and perform Umrah sans visa, meaning their Umrah travel to Makkah will be free.
According to a statement issued by the Saudi authorities, football fans with a Hayya Card - document given to fans attending the 2022 FIFA World Cup inaugurated in Qatar on November 20 and to continue till December 18, will be eligible to perform Umrah for free.
Quoting Khaled al-Shammari, Assistant Director of the visa department at the Saudi Foreign Ministry, an international news outlet reported that Hayya card holders can stay in Saudi Arabia for up to two months, ending on January 11, 2023.
“The visa is free but medical insurance must be obtained from the visa platform,” Shammari told the media.
He further stated that cardholders will be allowed multiple entries into the Kingdom during the designated two-month period without any compulsion to demonstrate entry into Qatar. This means that Muslim football fans can shuttle between Qatar (Doha) and Saudi Arabia (Jeddah) in the middle of the tournament and perform Umrah.
Umrah is pilgrimage to Makkah that can be undertaken any time of the year. This is in contrast to Hajj which is performed only once in a year.
Those attending the tournament are staying in neighbouring countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates including Qatar, the FIFA World Cup host.
During the tournament, 160 shuttle service flights are operating daily from cities across the Gulf region to and from Doha.
To further make the visit of football fans to the Gulf Region more pleasant, the UAE is also offering multiple-entry visas to world cup ticket holders at a nominal fee of 100 dirhams (approximately Rs6,000).
This is the first in FIFA history, the mega event is being organised in an Arab state. Despite apprehensions by a section of media, the event has been so far proved historic and Qatar is receiving applause from different circles for extra ordinary arrangement.
With inputs from news agency AFP
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