The Passport Department receives pilgrims when they arrive at any of the Kingdom’s air, land and sea inlets, organizes their entry into Makkah and the Holy Sites, and sees them off when they depart. “Our top priority is serving pilgrims,” said Brig. Ayidh Al-Harbi, commander of the Haj Passport Police.
He added that the Passport Department, under the directives of its director general, Maj. Gen. Salim Al-Bilaiheed, is working as hard as possible to serve pilgrims. “As soon as the last Haj was over, the Passport Department began making plans for this year’s Haj with a view to ensuring pilgrims have a conducive atmosphere that would enable them to do their Haj with ease, safety, peace and comfort.
“We have all necessary material and manpower at the Kingdom’s air, land and sea entrances, as well as at routes to Makkah and Madinah,” he said.
Al-Harbi said the Passport Department’s plan focuses on the security side of Haj to ensure pilgrims’ passports and visas are valid. The moment pilgrims arrive in the Kingdom, he said, all their data are registered in a computer, their fingerprints are taken and their identity cards thoroughly checked at numerous checkpoints on the way to Makkah and Madinah.
He further advised expatriates wishing to perform the fifth pillar of Islam to obtain Haj permits and warned violators that they risk arrest.
“The Passport Department is making use of modern technology to upgrade services and to keep pace with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah relating to e-government systems. In collaboration with the National Information Center, the Passport Department is streamlining a lot of its procedures and services,” he added.
Al-Harbi further called on any undocumented foreign nationals in the Kingdom to take advantage of the six-month royal amnesty and leave. “They should come to the expatriates’ departments with their papers and documents to facilitate their departure to their respective countries,” he said.
He also said there are 12 checkpoints around Makkah and warned drivers who try to sneak people into the city without Haj permits they risk prison and having their cars confiscated.
Expatriates can only perform Haj every five years, said Al-Harbi, adding that in order to get a Haj permit, expatriates should have the following:
1. A completed form.
2. Two recent color photographs (size 6x4).
3. Their employer’s approval.
4. A passport and Iqama.
5. A contract with a Haj service provider.
6. A certificate of vaccination against meningitis.
