Umrah from Pakistan: a complete guide for Pakistani pilgrims
The short answer. Umrah from Pakistan is simple compared with Hajj: no quota, no allocation, and you can go through most of the year. Two things catch people out. A Pakistani passport holder cannot lodge the visa alone, it goes through an approved agency, and one of the two mandatory vaccinations has a waiting period before travel. After that, the trip is decided by when you go and how far you sleep from the Haram.
This is the whole picture in one page, written for somebody who has decided to go and does not yet know the order to do things in. It is not a guide to the rites; your scholar is better placed for those.
The one thing that is not optional
You cannot file the Umrah visa yourself. Pakistan is not on Saudi Arabia's eVisa list. The visa is issued through a tour operator attested by Pakistan's Ministry of Religious Affairs, and the Nusuk app will not accept an application from an individual Pakistani passport holder.
So choosing an agency is not a convenience, it is the route. You are choosing who files your visa as much as who books your hotel. Where that wall sits is explained in the Umrah visa from Pakistan.
The thing that costs people their dates
One of the two mandatory vaccinations has a waiting period before you may travel. No agency can shorten it. Start it the week you decide, before you choose a month or a package.
This single item is the commonest reason a Pakistani family loses the dates they wanted, for Umrah and Hajj alike. More in Umrah health and vaccination requirements.
What decides the price
Four things, and very little else:
- When you go. Ramadan, and especially the last ten nights, is the most
expensive and most crowded time of the year. School holidays follow. A quiet
month is the same place, far cheaper, with a hotel you could not otherwise
afford.
- How far you sleep from the Haram. The largest line inside the package.
- How many share the room. The same hotel, the same dates, a different
per-person figure. This is where families make their real saving.
- The flight. Direct or one stop, and how early it was booked.
Our published rates, by room, are on the Umrah cost guide.
What a package includes
Nearly always the visa, the flights and the hotels. What varies, and what you must ask about in writing: meals, airport transfers, the Makkah to Madinah journey, Ziyarat, and which room the price is for. The full reading is in what is included in an Umrah package.
The order to do things in
- Check the passport expiry. Today.
- Start the vaccination with the waiting period.
- Make the documents agree: passport, CNIC and NADRA spelling the name the
same way.
- Choose your month, knowing what each season means.
- Verify the agency before any money:
how to verify an Umrah travel agency.
- Get the hotel by name, the distance and the excluded list in writing.
- Pay the registered company, against a receipt.
- Pack late and light.
The full version is the Umrah preparation checklist.
How the days usually go
Arrival, often in the small hours, and a decision to make: straight to the Haram, or sleep first. Then Umrah itself, which for most people takes a few hours. Then the days are yours. Madinah before or after, depending on the package, and a calmer city.
What first timers learn afterwards is in the first-time Umrah guide and Umrah mistakes to avoid.
If you are taking family
An older parent: the hotel distance decides everything. Umrah for elderly pilgrims.
Children and a three-generation group: the room decides the price and the distance decides the enjoyment. Umrah for families.
Tell the agency the ages and any mobility issue before the package is chosen. Afterwards very little can be changed.
What to be careful of
The money goes to the registered company, never a person. Nothing is paid before the hotel name, the dates and the excluded list are in writing. And ask who actually lodges the visa. The patterns are in how to avoid Umrah scams.
Where to start
Send us your dates, how many of you there are and the ages. We will tell you what is available, what it includes and excludes, what your file needs first, and whether moving your dates by a fortnight would get you noticeably closer to the Haram for the same money. Our departures are on the Umrah packages page.