Umrah from the UK on a Non-British Passport: Visa Routes

Your route to Umrah depends on your passport and your UK status. If your nationality is on Saudi Arabia's eVisa list, as Turkey is, use the tourist eVisa. Pakistani passport holders, for example, qualify for it only with UK permanent residence or a used US, UK or Schengen visitor visa. Otherwise, apply for an Umrah visa through Nusuk Umrah.

Can you perform Umrah on a Saudi tourist visa?

Yes, outside the Hajj season. Saudi Arabia's official tourism site says: "You can use the tourist visa to perform Umrah but not during the Hajj season." It adds that visitors may apply for Umrah permits through the Nusuk platform.

Hajj is different. Saudi Arabia's tourist visa regulations rule out "performing Hajj except under a Hajj Visa", and the FCDO says: "You can only book a Hajj place through the official Nusuk Hajj platform."

Which Saudi visa can you get from the UK?

Living in the UK does not, on its own, make you eligible for Saudi Arabia's tourist eVisa. What matters is your nationality, then your UK status.

The tourist eVisa

Saudi Arabia's visa lookup offers Turkish nationals the eVisa directly. On 9 October 2026 it showed a fee of SAR 395, about USD 105, including medical insurance, for a multiple-entry visa valid for one year. Pakistani nationals, by contrast, are asked whether they are a "US, UK, or Schengen resident or business or tourist visa holder". Most of the nationalities we help, including Indian, Bangladeshi, Nigerian and Ghanaian passport holders, are not on the eVisa list either.

For nationalities not on the list, Saudi Arabia's tourist visa regulations open the eVisa and visa on arrival to two groups:

• anyone who "Has obtained a Permanent Residence" in the United States, the European Union or the United Kingdom
• anyone who holds a valid tourist or business visa from the United States, the United Kingdom or a Schengen country, which must "have been used at least once to enter the country granting the visa"

Both routes also cover first-degree relatives travelling with you.

Read the small print on the visa route

The official lookup adds conditions for the visa-holder route. Your US, UK or Schengen visa "must be a business or tourist visa", and it must have an entry stamp from the country that issued it. The lookup says: "digital entry stamps are not accepted". Since April 2026, the Schengen Area records entries electronically instead of stamping passports, so check with the Saudi authorities before you rely on a Schengen visa you have only used since then.

For a Pakistani national using this route, the lookup showed a visa fee of SAR 339.44, about USD 90.50, with medical insurance charged separately.

What "UK permanent residence" means

The Saudi rules do not define it in UK terms. Most likely it means indefinite leave to remain or settled status. Student, Skilled Worker and family visas are temporary, and the official Saudi texts we have read do not name them. If you are on one of those visas, treat yourself as not eligible for the eVisa unless the Saudi embassy confirms otherwise, and use the Umrah visa route instead.

The Umrah visa through Nusuk Umrah

If the eVisa does not fit, the Umrah visa is the route designed for you. Since August 2025, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah's Nusuk Umrah platform has let pilgrims outside Saudi Arabia apply directly, "without the need for any intermediary". It lists the United Kingdom as a country of residence, and says all its service providers are licensed by the Ministry. You can also use a licensed agent.

What to know:

• You buy a package. The Ministry says an Umrah visa cannot be issued "without service packages (accommodation – transport)". Nusuk Umrah sells packages with the visa included, and packages without a visa for people who already hold one.
• Residence rules. Nusuk Umrah's terms say users who are residents must have lived in their country of residence "for a full year or more".
• Fee. The Ministry estimates the Umrah visa fee at 300 Saudi riyals, on top of the package.
• Length of stay. "The duration of stay for arrivals with Umrah visas is 90 days."
• Repeat visits. Since July 2026 there has also been a multiple-entry Umrah visa, valid for 365 days with a cumulative stay of up to 90 days. Each visit needs a new package and an Umrah permit.

Step by step from the UK

1. Check your passport. Saudi rules ask for a passport valid for at least six months.
2. Choose your visa route from the table above. Apply only on official platforms or through a licensed provider.
3. Get vaccinated. You need the meningitis ACWY vaccine at least 10 days before you arrive. See below.
4. Book flights and accommodation. If you buy a package that includes flights from a UK company, check it is ATOL protected.
5. Book your Umrah permit in Nusuk. The permit is free. Only one permit can be active at a time, and a permit is cancelled automatically if you have not entered Saudi Arabia by its start time.
6. Book the Rawdah if you want to pray there. The Ministry says a permit is required to pray in the Rawdah at the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, and it is also booked in Nusuk.
7. Travel with your documents. Carry your passport, visa, vaccination certificate and Nusuk permit, on paper or on your phone.

Health requirements for Umrah

Saudi Arabia's Public Health Authority publishes the rules each season. Its 1447H (2026) document, the latest we could find on 9 October 2026, says:

• Meningitis. "All individuals intending to perform Umrah from all countries, are required to be vaccinated". A conjugate ACYW vaccine counts if given within the last 5 years, and a polysaccharide vaccine within the last 3 years, in both cases at least 10 days before arrival. The FCDO adds: "You must have a valid certificate of vaccination against the ACWY strains of meningitis 10 days before arriving for Hajj and Umrah."
• Polio. Required for people arriving from listed countries, including Pakistan and Afghanistan. The rule is about where you travel from, so it applies if you fly in from Pakistan, for example after visiting family.
• Yellow fever. Required if you arrive from a listed risk country, such as Nigeria or Ghana.
• COVID-19 and flu. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or immunity is required only for pilgrims in listed risk groups, such as people over 65 and pregnant women. Flu vaccination is advised.

Book your vaccinations early with a travel clinic, and keep the certificate with your passport. The UK's TravelHealthPro service has more advice for pilgrims.

When you can go: the 1448 AH season

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah sets a calendar for each Umrah season. For 1448 AH it announced:

Tourist visa holders cannot perform Umrah in the Hajj season, which the Ministry defines for its new multiple-entry Umrah visa as running "from the first of Dhu Al-Qi'dah to the 13th of Dhu Al-Hijjah". Exact dates for 2027 had not been announced on 9 October 2026, so check before you book a spring trip.

Check the travel advice before you book

On 9 October 2026, the FCDO's advice for Saudi Arabia, updated on 8 October, said that "Since 13 July, the Houthis (a military group in Yemen) have launched missiles and drones targeting several locations in Saudi Arabia." It warned of a heightened threat against airports and other sites across the country, naming places including Jeddah and Riyadh. It advised against all but essential travel to Aseer, Riyadh, Najran and Jizan provinces and to Taif city and Taif International Airport.

Makkah and Madinah were not named in that advice. FCDO advice is written for British nationals, but the risks apply to everyone. The FCDO also warns that your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against its advice. Read the latest version before you book.

Booking a package safely

The FCDO warns that "UK-based organised crime groups target people planning Hajj or Umrah trips." Its advice includes:

• Check ATOL protection. It says to "make sure your travel agent or operator is ATOL protected when booking Umrah". Under ATOL rules, any package holiday with a flight sold in the UK must be ATOL protected, and you should receive an ATOL Certificate when you pay.
• Research the company. Do this "even if family or friends recommended it".
• Be wary of offers too good to be true. The FCDO says criminals advertise fraudulent deals through licensed travel companies.
• Pay safely. It advises you to "use a credit card where possible" and "get everything confirmed in writing".
• Use official platforms. Apply for visas only through Saudi Arabia's official portals, Nusuk Umrah or a licensed provider.

If you think you have been targeted, contact the police. The national fraud reporting service, formerly Action Fraud, has been called Report Fraud since December 2025.

Plan your Umrah with us

Not sure which visa route fits your passport and UK status? Book a free eligibility check and we will tell you before you pay for anything. See our Saudi Arabia visa page for documents and fees. If you are combining Umrah with a stop in Dubai, read our Dubai visa guide and UAE page.