Menhaj: Indonesians who risk travelling to Saudi without a visa will be unable to perform Hajj

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Hajj and Umrah (Menhaj) Mochamad Irfan Yusuf has emphasised that Indonesian citizens (WNI) who recklessly travel to the Holy Land without a Hajj visa will not be able to participate in Hajj, given the strict inspections by Saudi authorities.

“If it is indeed because they are not using a Hajj visa. And I am confident that even if they manage to get there (to Saudi), they will not be able to perform the Hajj pilgrimage,” said Menhaj Irfan at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, on Wednesday.

The Minister’s statement responds to the Immigration and Correctional Services Ministry (Kemenimpas) preventing 13 WNI from departing to the Holy Land in a non-procedural manner or without a Hajj visa.

The government, he said, continues to remind the public not to use non-procedural routes or anything other than a Hajj visa to travel to the Holy Land, as it poses risks to safety, prevents participation in the pilgrimage rites, and violates applicable regulations.

On the other hand, Kemenimpas is tightening surveillance at airports as a preventive measure against illegal Hajj practices or non-procedural departures of prospective Hajj pilgrims.

“We have instructed all units at every embarkation airport to provide the best services for our prospective Hajj pilgrims. We are also fully committed to tightening surveillance against non-procedural prospective Hajj pilgrims,” he said.

He mentioned that immigration service readiness covers 14 main embarkation airports, from Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport (Banda Aceh) to Yogyakarta Airport (YIA).