13 Pilgrims Fail to Depart, Hajj Minister Emphasises Obligation to Use Official Hajj Visa

Minister of Hajj and Umrah (Menhaj), M Irfan Yusuf, has emphasised that prospective pilgrims who do not use official Hajj visas will certainly be unable to perform the Hajj pilgrimage validly in the Holy Land.

This statement was made by Gus Irfan in response to 13 Indonesian citizens (WNI) whose departures were delayed due to indications of using non-Hajj visas.

“If that is indeed because they are not using Hajj visas. And I am confident that even if they manage to get there, they will not be able to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. That’s all,” said Gus Irfan after seeing off the departure of the Banten Hajj pilgrims’ cluster at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, on Wednesday (22/4/2026).

Previously, the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Immigration Office in Tangerang, Banten, prevented the departure of 13 WNI suspected of intending to perform the Hajj pilgrimage non-procedurally through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Head of the Soekarno-Hatta Immigration Office, Galih P. Kartika Perdhana, explained that the prevention was carried out after intensive checks on 18-19 April 2026 at Terminal 3 international departures.

“From the surveillance results, eight WNI were found to be departing on flights to Jeddah using the modus operandi of work visas. However, after further examination, they admitted their actual intention was to perform the Hajj pilgrimage without going through official procedures,” said Galih.

In addition, four other WNI also admitted to intending to perform Hajj using work visas without supporting documents as workers.