DAMMAM: A number of Haj service-providing companies in the Eastern Province have closed their doors to GCC pilgrims, especially from Qatar and Kuwait. The GCC pilgrims preferred to register in the Saudi Haj companies to escape from the high prices in their countries, which have reached an average of SR 20,000 in Qatar and SR 15,000 in Kuwait, local Arabic daily Al-Watan reported Wednesday.
It said the Haj companies in the Kingdom asked an average price of SR 12,000, starting from SR 7,000 and up to SR 18,000.
In a tour of the Haj company offices in Al-Ahsa city, the newspaper noted dozens of Qatari citizens pouring into the offices to register their names. “Many agencies refused to register the GCC pilgrims, while other made certain conditions for the registration,” it said.
Saeed Yazeek, a supervisor of registration at Al-Hammad company in Alkhobar, said his company this year accepted only Saudi citizens. “We have 400 seats for Haj this year, which we were able to fill completely with Saudis in 18 hours. We have no places for GCC citizens from Qatar, Bahrain or Kuwait,” he said.
GCC citizens would need special Haj permits from their countries to join the Saudi Haj service providing companies to avoid problems with the concerned authorities in the GCC countries, “who have been complaining that their citizens escape to the Kingdom to join its Haj companies,” Yazeek said.
Abdul Rahman Al-Suwailim, a reservation coordinator at a Saudi Haj company in Dammam, said his company this year dedicated 20 seats to non-Saudi pilgrims. He asked the non-Saudis that wished to register to proceed to any of the passport departments in the region to be issued with a Saudi residence permit that bears their names and personal data.
He recalled that his company had introduced this system about two years ago to avoid problems with the concerned Haj authorities in the Kingdom or in the other GCC countries.
Spokesman of the Eastern Province Passport Department Lt. Col. Emad Abdul Qadir said all the Passport Department branches in the region would welcome the GCC citizens wishing to obtain a Saudi number to use for registration with the Haj companies, which ask them to show a Saudi document showing their place of residence.
He said the GCC citizens are only asked to show their passports so as to obtain this number, which they should use in registering with a Saudi Haj company.
Haj service-providing companies close doors to GCC pilgrims
