A special visa given to Muslims for the Umrah pilgrimage to Makkah will no longer be free, following a decision that ends a 100-year-old tradition in Saudi Arabia.
A new Umrah system, operated by agents appointed by the Saudi government, charges Dh300 for processing the visas and organising pilgrimages to Makkah.
Those planning to perform Umrah say the system has more than doubled the cost of the trip because of fees imposed on processing the visas, while commissions charged by agents in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been described as "exorbitant".
Saudi diplomats in the UAE say the kingdom levies no fees on Haj and Umrah pilgrims and insists the money collected all goes to agents. However, they say Umrah agents in Saudi Arabia are allowed to charge around Dh25 per visa.
Under the system, the Ministry of Haj in the kingdom has authorised certain agencies to provide all Umrah services to those intending to performing Umrah throughout the year, including booking, accommodation, transport and looking after them from the time of their arrival in the kingdom until their departure.
These agencies are accountable for any offences that may occur and pay 300,000 Saudi riyals each as surety to protect the rights of those performing Umrah and local agents abroad.
A person who performed Umrah but did not wish to be named said: "A local agent told me the visa now costs Dh300 and levied the amount on every member of my family, despite the fact that we only carry two passports because my children are registered in their mother's passport.
"The new system of Umrah has made us easy prey for these agents. We have to accept any service offered by them and pay whatever amount they charge. It is a useless system because when we face any irregularity or poor service, it will be too late to complain since the fees have already been paid to the agent. We are there to perform our rituals and not run from pillar to post filing complaints."
Another person performing Umrah confirmed the agent has charged him for the Umrah visa Dh200 per person.
He said: "The new system has doubled and, in some cases, tripled the costs we used to pay to perform Umrah. It has deprived us of the right to arrange the trip ourselves and save the high charges levied by tour operators, hotels and car rental companies. It has also forfeited our right to directly negotiate with these companies because we have no other choice. We have to accept it or forget about performing our rituals."
Another pilgrim wondered why the Saudi authorities have imposed the system on every visitor to the kingdom while their problem is with those who overstay the visa. "Why should they complicate things for us for no fault of ours?"
A local agent said that their Saudi counterparts charge them up to Dh100 per visa processed, adding that certain local agents who are not approved get these processed visas from approved agents for Dh200 per visa. He also claimed that the Saudi authorities contribute to this problem by reducing the annual quota of expatriate pilgrims which, in turn, leads to an increase in costs.
Nasser Al Houty, Acting Ambassador of Saudi Arabia in the UAE, said: "The kingdom does not levy any fees on Umrah or Haj visas. The system, introduced by the Ministry of Haj, was meant to facilitate services for those performing Umrah.
"The Saudi authorities discovered numerous problems such as lack of an effective system for those performing Umrah to arrange for their accommodation, itinerary and other personal matters in the kingdom from abroad.
"The absence of any service made pilgrims arrive in the kingdom without having booked any accommodation or transport. This also led to those performing Umrah having to search for accommodation when they arrived. They are often exploited by those providing accommodation.
"The system was meant to combat these problems. However, complaints can be submitted to the Ministry of Haj and action is taken immediately. We have suspended many agents," Al Houty said.
RATES
Charges after introduction of new system
Present cost after the new Umrah system.
Overland travel (average rates)
? Dh700 per person, including transport and accommodation in one-, two-star or unrated hotels.
? Dh950 per person, including transport and accommodation in three- or four-star hotels.
? Dh1,500 per person, including transport and accommodation in five-star hotels.
Air travel (average rates)? Dh3,200 per person, including transport and accommodation in three- or four-star hotels.
? Dh3,700 to Dh4,000 per person, including transport and accommodation in five-star hotels.
* Costs before the introduction of this system were less than 40 per cent of the present rates.
The difference is apparently caused by visa fees and commissions levied by agents in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, who benefit from the system. Rates go up during the high season in Rajab, Shaaban and Ramadan.
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