Prospective Hajj Pilgrim from Lombok Rejected Entry to Saudi Arabia

Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mochamad Irfan Yusuf stated that a prospective Hajj pilgrim from the Lombok embarkation point was denied entry to Saudi Arabia after being found on a 10-year blacklist by local immigration authorities. Irfan conveyed this during his inspection of the Solo embarkation point in Central Java on Thursday afternoon, 30 April 2026.

Irfan has not yet learned the details of why the prospective pilgrim was blacklisted. According to him, the blacklisting may be related to violations committed by the pilgrim during a previous Umrah pilgrimage.

“It could be because they once committed a violation there. But from the report I received, when checked at immigration, the person was blacklisted for 10 years. Indeed, many of our Umrah pilgrims commit violations that result in them being banned from entering for 10 years,” he said.

During the inspection at the Solo embarkation point on Thursday, Irfan also ensured the readiness of services for pilgrims, from arrival procedures to supporting facilities. He admitted to deliberately observing without much intervention to directly assess on-the-ground conditions.

“Alhamdulillah, earlier I deliberately just watched without saying anything. I observed the arrival process. I also mentioned that if possible, the elderly shouldn’t wait there. The elderly should go straight to their rooms. We’ll handle the process and escort them to the rooms. The elderly ones,” he said.

Additionally, Irfan inspected the kitchen facilities and ensured optimal food quality supervision. He even tasted the menu prepared for the prospective pilgrims that day.

“Then the kitchen was checked, alhamdulillah, it’s good. The Health Office is already overseeing it to avoid any oversights. They themselves are on 24-hour standby here to ensure the food is indeed healthy and fit for consumption,” he said.

Irfan noted that food quality is generally good, though there are still minor notes. He requested immediate improvements. “Earlier, I tried the food, it’s about 70 percent good, tasty. There was one thing I commented on; we’ll fix it,” he said.

Irfan acknowledged that this year’s Hajj implementation involves tightened health checks. According to him, this tightening is a request from the Saudi government to ensure all pilgrims are in prime condition.

“Yes, it’s a request from the Saudi government, their Ministry of Hajj and Umrah wants our pilgrims to be healthy,” he stated. “They don’t want us to, as they put it, deliver people who die there. That’s why this year the checks are relatively stricter than in previous years.”

According to Irfan, this tightening measure is important to safeguard pilgrims’ safety as well as good relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. He emphasised that the policy is not to complicate matters but to ensure that the pilgrims dispatched are truly in good health.

“We don’t want their government to set a rule that those over 70 can’t go; we don’t want that. We just ask them that regardless of age, as long as healthy, they can be dispatched,” he said.

He assured that moving forward, health checks will be further tightened as part of service improvements. However, this policy also impacts some pilgrims who must postpone their departure, including couples who cannot travel together.

“Insyaallah, we will tighten it even more. But the effect is that if the husband passes but the wife doesn’t, perhaps the husband won’t go or they’ll wait until next year when both can pass,” he said.

The government, he continued, still provides opportunities for pilgrims who do not yet meet the requirements to depart in the next Hajj season. This applies as long as the pilgrims have not been dispatched and can still meet the established health requirements.

“As long as they haven’t departed to Saudi, they can go again next year as long as their health is good. Or if they feel they’re no longer healthy, they can pass it on to their child. They can,” he said.

On the other hand, he will also directly review the dispatch process at the airport, including the implementation of Makkah Route services. This step is taken to ensure all processes run smoothly as expected.

“Then tonight there will also be a departure at the airport. I’ll try to see the Makkah Route process to make sure it’s truly smooth as we all hope,” he said.

He also shared updates on the number of pilgrims who have arrived in the Holy Land so far. The data shows ongoing departure progress in line with the government’s set targets.

“The number of prospective Hajj pilgrims as of this afternoon is already 54,787 who have arrived in Madinah. That’s the afternoon data; it might increase by evening. The target is 26.39 percent, and hopefully everything goes smoothly. Alhamdulillah, Amin,” he said.