UmrahFriend
Sources checked Sept 21, 2026. Confirm on Nusuk before booking

Umrah for First-Timers

This guide covers the practical side of a first Umrah: how to book, what the visa allows, when you can go, permits, the required vaccine, and where to turn if something goes wrong. Everything here comes from an official source and says where it came from.

How to perform Umrah, and what makes it valid, are questions of religion, not logistics, so this guide doesn't cover them. Ask a qualified scholar: SeekersGuidance, AMJA or IslamQA.

Start with the official channels

As of April 9, 2026, the Government of Canada advises using the official Nusuk Umrah platform or a licensed travel provider connected to Saudi systems (Government of Canada).

The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah's FAQ says an Umrah visa can be obtained in two ways: by designing your Umrah program directly on an approved electronic platform such as Nusuk, or through an external agent, who obtains the visa through the Nusuk app. It adds that pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom are linked to Umrah offices in their own country that the Ministry has accredited, and that the accredited offices can be found through a link on the Ministry's website (Ministry FAQ).

Our advice, not a rule: before you pay any agency, check that it is on the ministry's accredited list, and ask exactly what is included: the hotel and its distance from the Haram, transport, visa handling, meals, and cancellation terms. We don't rank or recommend agencies.

Visa, fee and length of stay

According to the Ministry's FAQ: the Umrah visa fee is estimated at 300 Saudi Riyals; the stay is 90 days and cannot be extended beyond 90 days; an Umrah visa can be obtained more than once in a year; it allows travel between Makkah, Madinah and other cities in the Kingdom during your permitted stay; and there is no specific limit on how many times you can perform Umrah. The FAQ is undated and calls the fee an estimate, so confirm the current fee and stay length on Nusuk before you book.

The same FAQ says fines for staying beyond the visa are outside the Ministry's jurisdiction. Plan to leave on time.

When you can go

The Ministry's FAQ says the Umrah season runs from 1 Muharram to 30 Dhu al-Qi'dah. That is on the Islamic calendar, so the Gregorian dates change every year. Confirm the current season and your dates on Nusuk before you book flights.

Permits and timing

According to the Ministry's FAQ: only one Umrah permit can be active at a time, and you can book again after it expires; a permit cannot be cancelled once its time has started; entering the Grand Mosque for Umrah is tied to the permit time, while entering to pray is allowed at any time; and permits are displayed and verified on arrival through the Tawakkalna and Nusuk apps.

Our advice, not a rule: because a permit is tied to a time slot and can't be cancelled once it starts, build your travel dates around it, and be careful with flights you can't change until your permit is confirmed.

Health: the meningitis vaccine

Saudi Arabia requires all pilgrims aged one year and older to submit a certificate of the quadrivalent (ACYW) meningitis vaccine, issued no more than 3 years earlier for the polysaccharide vaccine or 5 years earlier for the conjugate vaccine, and at least 10 days before arrival (CDC Yellow Book, page updated April 2, 2026). In February 2025 the Saudi Ministry of Health said people intending to perform Umrah should be vaccinated at least 10 days before travel, and that people vaccinated within the past five years do not need a booster (Saudi Press Agency, Feb 24, 2025). The Ministry of Health's Hajj requirements document gives the same vaccine types and time windows (Saudi Ministry of Health, 2026).

Book the appointment early: the certificate must already be at least 10 days old when you arrive.

Other vaccine requirements depend on where you are arriving from and on your group, and the official pages do not all agree. For example, the Ministry's own FAQ gives conflicting answers on COVID-19 vaccination for Umrah. So we won't tell you what applies to you: ask your doctor or a travel clinic, and check the Saudi Ministry of Health's current requirements. This guide is not medical advice.

If you're a woman traveling without a mahram

The Ministry's FAQ answers "Is a woman allowed to come to perform Umrah without a mahram?" with "Yes, it is allowed." The Government of Canada's travel page (April 9, 2026) says women of all ages may travel without a mahram to perform Hajj or Umrah. This rule has changed in recent years, so confirm it on Nusuk when you book. Our fuller guide covers what to check. Whether a mahram is religiously required is a question for a scholar.

If something goes wrong

The Ministry's FAQ says that if a complaint to your hotel or your Umrah campaign gets no response, you can file it at an Enaya center or contact the Ministry's Beneficiary Services Center (listed as 920002814). If you lose your passport, contact the company you applied through, and if it does not respond, the Enaya Center for Pilgrims' Services at the Ministry. That is a Saudi number that may not work from abroad, so confirm the current contact route on the Ministry's website or Nusuk. Keep your bookings and confirmation numbers saved offline.

What we haven't covered

Costs. Prices vary too much by date and hotel for us to give a reliable figure. Our hotel guide shows one traveler's experience of the trade-off, and our assistance guide covers help for older or less mobile travelers.

US travelers. The US State Department publishes a page on Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage travel. We could not read that page in full when we wrote this guide, so we don't quote it here.

Sources and where to confirm

Rules and fees change. The date at the top is when we last checked our sources.