How to get easily visa for Umrah

What is Umrah:

Umrah is an Arabic word which means to visit an important place. It is an important pilgrimage that Muslims perform throughout the year except for the days of Hajj. It is the beautiful Sunnah of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad PBUH. It is an act of spiritual purity for the Muslims. Umrah is started with wearing the Ihram, doing Tawaf, seven times around the Ka'aba. After completion of Tawaf performed tow raka'at nafal at Makam-e -Ibrahim and drink abe-Zamzam. The next step is Sa'y (running between the hills of Safa and Marwa) and the final step is shaving or clipping of the hair.

Importance of Umrah:

Umrah is the preferred Sunnah of Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH. It is the minor Hajj for the Muslims. It is one of the main ways to purify the soul and earn the pleasure of Allah.

How to plan:

It is very important to have a plan when you will be going to visit the Holy place on earth. You must be well known about the off-peak season. During Ramadan and especially in the last ten nights of Ramadan it is much expensive. It is also more expensive during the school holiday season.

Personally, I have found that the cheapest time to go is between the start of January to end of February. Also, when Ummrah season opens it is usually a good time to go, but very volatile as many of the rules change before opening the season.

Requirements for Umrah Visa:

The requirements for the Umrah visa are similar to what you expect from any other country when issuing a visa. The first requirement is you cannot apply for a visa yourself without a certified agent. You will need an agent to issue your visa. The Govt of Saudi Arabia started the E-visa system for pilgrims. Now it is possible to issue your E-visa online with an approved agent with only sending a scanned copy of your passport. Your E-visa will be issued within 24 hours.

The important information about your Umrah Visa as follow.

Your Passport needs to be valid for at least eight months.
You must be a citizen of the country from where you apply for a visa.
If you are not a citizen of a country from where you apply, you must have a permanent residency for the application of visa.
The visa is valid for 30 days from issuance.
The visa validity reduced to 15 days in the month of Ramadan.
You can stay in Saudi Arabia, a maximum of 30 days but agents recommended 21 days to 28 days.
If you overstay in Saudi Arabia, you might be banned from going again and also charged penalties for overstay.
You cannot go for Umrah after Ramadan, you will need to wait for the new season that starts in the first month of the next Islamic year.