JEDDAH, 5 April 2008 — Official sources in Egypt said the new Umrah e-visa regulations laid down by the Saudi government governing Umrah during the current season have been beneficial “The e-visas being issued for Umrah pilgrims solves a number of difficulties that have been faced in the past,” said Hassan Gamaleddine, first secretary at the Egyptian Tourism Ministry.
“A notable advantage is that nobody can impersonate another person or steal the visa of another person, something that has happened in the past. It has also saved a lot of time, money and energy for the applicants and the agencies that represent them.”
The latest visa procedures for Haj, Umrah, or employment also require the fingerprinting of the visa applicants. The new regulations also include the logging of the name of the responsible Saudi Umrah operator in the visa with the aim of tracing pilgrims that remain in the Kingdom beyond what is legally permitted.
The simplified online visas have also eliminated the long queues at the visa counters in the Saudi Embassy and its consulates in Egypt, which issued more than a million Umrah visas last year.
On the other hand, a tour agency operator who stressed the positive aspects of the new system also pointed out some difficulties with regard to the new system. Barkat Al-Rifaie of Baron Tourism Company in Egypt expressed his concern about the large amount of money an agency will have to pay if there are errors in the data of visa applications. While the fee for rectifying an error is EP60, the unskilled workers at several agencies are likely to commit numerous errors, which would add up, Al-Rifaie said.
The agency could not demand any additional payment for error from the clients as the Egyptian Tourism Ministry has made it clear that the clients should not be made to pay for the mistakes of the agencies. “If there is a violation, the violation would invalidate the license of that particular tourist company and suspension of its business for a year,” Al-Rifaie said.
