Saudi to issue 2013 Hajj visas in Freetown

Ryhad, Sept. 24 (SLENA) – The authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will dispatch three Consular officers to Sierra Leone for the issuance of 2013 ‘Hajj’ visas, a Saudi Foreign Ministry official has confirmed.

The officers, Messer’s Turki Ibraheem Mohammad Al-Madhi, Fawaz Tanaf Al-Ofaibi and Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Fakeeh are expected to arrive in Freetown next week to carry out their official assignment.

According to the Ministry of Pilgrimage (Hajj), applicants must have a passport with a validity of at least six (6) months and the passport should have at least two empty visa pages adjacent to each other.

Each applicant must submit one recent passport size colour photograph with a white background. The photograph must be a full-face view in which the visa applicant is facing the camera directly. Side or angled views are NOT accepted.

The applicant must submit proof of vaccination for meningitis. The certificate of vaccination should have been issued not more than three years and not less than 10 days prior to entering Saudi Arabia.

In another related development, the Saudi Health Ministry announced recently that Hajj visas will not be issued by Saudi missions to elderly pilgrims and those suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes and other illnesses involving the heart, kidneys and the respiratory system.

To prevent the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona virus (MERS-CoV), the elderly and those suffering from chronic diseases will not get Hajj visas this year, Health Ministry spokesman; Khalid Al-Mirghalani told local dailies recently.

Al-Mirghalani did not stipulate an age limit but said the elderly who are feeble and medically unfit to travel would not be considered for pilgrimage visas.

Meanwhile, Minister of Pilgrimage, Dr. Bandar bin Mohammed has announced that his ministry will provide “around-the-clock services” to all pilgrims the moment they arrive up to when they depart. ”We have worked on mechanisms aimed at enabling pilgrims perform their Hajj rituals easily and comfortably,” Bandar added.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Establishment for Non-Arab African Pilgrims, Abdul Wahid bin Burhan Seifuddin has confirmed the arrival of the first batch of 500 pilgrims from Ogun State in Nigeria for this year’s Hajj at the Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah, adding that the first batch of 120 South African pilgrims will arrive at the same airport this weekend.

Traditionally, South African pilgrims have always been the first Africans to arrive in the Kingdom for Hajj and they are normally among the first to depart. This year’s Hajj is expected to take place from October 13 to 18.

MBJ/Ryhad/SLENA

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