By Ahmed, Founder of Ziyara Last updated September 14, 2026
Most visa delays don't start in Saudi Arabia. They start at registration, when a passport with five months of validity, a selfie against a patterned wall or a missing vaccination certificate slips through because nobody checked it until the deadline was close.
This checklist covers the documents an agency should collect and verify for every Umrah and Hajj pilgrim, and when. Requirements are set by the Saudi authorities, and your Saudi operator has the final word for each departure.
The core documents at a glance
| Document | Umrah | Hajj | Check at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport valid at least six months from arrival | Required | Required | Registration |
| Recent photo on a white background | Required for the visa | Required for the visa | Registration |
| Meningococcal ACWY vaccination certificate | Strongly advised — check the season's rules | Mandatory | Booking confirmation |
| Polio / yellow fever certificates | Only for pilgrims from affected countries | Only for pilgrims from affected countries | Booking confirmation |
| Signed package contract and privacy notice | Required by you | Required by you | Deposit |
| Return flight and hotel bookings | Arranged by you and your operator | Arranged through the official Hajj channel | Before visa application |
Passports: the six-month rule and the name
Saudi Arabia requires a passport that is valid for at least six months from the date of arrival. Check it the day a pilgrim registers — not when the visa is due — because a renewal can take weeks and a pilgrim who finds out late loses the seat.
Three more passport checks save trouble later:
- Name exactly as printed. The visa, the flight manifest and the hotel booking must all match the machine-readable zone of the passport, not the way the family spells the name.
- Nationality of the document. Many diaspora pilgrims hold two passports. Agree which one they travel on, and collect that one.
- A clear scan of the photo page. Readable, uncropped and without glare — you will need it to verify the typed data.
Visa photos: small rules that cause rejections
The Saudi e-visa system checks photos automatically and rejects the ones that don't meet its specification. The requirements that trip up most applications:
- a plain white background — not a wall, not a sheet with folds;
- a recent, front-facing colour photo with the face clearly visible;
- a file size within the portal's limit — currently between 5 and 100 KB — which often means resizing a phone photo.
Ask for the photo at registration, together with the passport scan, so a rejected photo is replaced in days rather than discovered after submission.
Vaccinations: what is mandatory and what is advised
For Hajj, the Saudi Ministry of Health requires proof of the quadrivalent meningococcal (ACWY) vaccine, given at least 10 days before arrival. Pilgrims arriving from countries where poliovirus is still circulating need a valid polio vaccination certificate, and those from yellow fever risk areas need a yellow fever certificate. Seasonal influenza vaccination is recommended, and pilgrims are asked to follow Saudi guidance on COVID-19 vaccination.
For Umrah, the picture changed in 2025. A January 2025 instruction required airlines to check meningitis vaccination for Umrah travellers; the General Authority of Civil Aviation rescinded it on 7 February 2025, citing limited vaccine supply. The Ministry of Health continues to advise the ACWY vaccine for Umrah pilgrims, and publishes updated health requirements for each season.
What that means in practice:
- Treat ACWY as mandatory for Hajj and strongly advised for Umrah, and tell pilgrims so in writing.
- Check the Ministry of Health's current requirements before every season — and before every Ramadan departure, when changes are most likely.
- Record which pilgrims have shown a certificate, so the group leader isn't guessing on arrival.
When to collect what
A realistic timeline for a departure with a normal visa cycle:
| When | What to collect or check |
|---|---|
| At registration | Passport scan, passport data, visa photo, contact details, travel companions |
| At deposit | Signed contract with cancellation terms, privacy notice acknowledged |
| 8 weeks before | Every passport verified against the scan; expiry checked; photo accepted |
| 6 weeks before | Vaccination certificates for Hajj (and ACWY status for Umrah) |
| Before visa submission | Final data to your operator — see Nusuk rules for Umrah agencies |
| Final week | Printed or digital copies for the group leader; emergency contacts |
Handling the documents safely
Passport scans and health certificates are sensitive personal data. In the EU, GDPR expects you to collect only what the trip needs, protect it properly and delete it when you no longer need it. The practical version: collect documents through a registration link that stores them in a protected profile, give staff access on a need-to-know basis, and don't let passport photos live in WhatsApp chats and phone backups — covered in detail in Passport & Document Management for Umrah Groups.
Keeping a spreadsheet for now? Our free pilgrim list template has the passport columns you need, and the flight manifest template flags passports that expire less than six months after the flight.
How Ziyara helps
In Ziyara, pilgrims upload their passport scan and photo through your registration link, in seven languages, straight into an encrypted profile. Passport expiry sits in its own column so the problems surface months early, duplicate passports are flagged at entry, and the Visa Data Pack exports verified data for Nusuk and e-visa forms together with a ZIP of every passport scan. Documents never need to travel through a chat.
Frequently asked questions
How long must a passport be valid for Umrah?
At least six months from the date of arrival in Saudi Arabia. Check it at registration so there is time to renew.
Is the meningitis vaccine mandatory for Umrah in 2026?
It is mandatory for Hajj. For Umrah, the airline-enforced requirement introduced in January 2025 was rescinded on 7 February 2025, but the Saudi Ministry of Health still advises the ACWY vaccine and publishes requirements each season — check the current rules before every departure.
What are the photo requirements for the Saudi e-visa?
A recent colour photo of the face on a plain white background, within the portal's file-size limit — currently 5 to 100 KB. Photos that fail the automatic check are rejected.
Can a pilgrim travel on a different passport from the one used at registration?
Only if every booking is updated: the visa, the flight manifest and the hotel booking must all match the passport the pilgrim actually travels on. Settle which passport will be used at registration.
