Islamic Ministry extends license of Umrah companies

Islamic Ministry has extended the duration of the license issued to Maldivian companies to organize Umrah pilgrimages. 

Islamic Ministry, in a statement on Wednesday morning, noted that the license issued to Umrah companies was supposed to be valid for two years, but the companies were unable to effectively organize Umrah pilgrimages since last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The license issued to Umrah companies has therefore been extended by one year. 

Islamic Ministry has issued license to 37 companies to organize Umrah pilgrimages. 

Saudi Arabia had suspended Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages due to the pandemic, and later allowed only Saudi residents to perform the pilgrimages.  

The country eased restrictions to allow fully vaccinated foreign nationals to perform Umrah last July. Saudi Arabia announced it will initially limit pilgrims to 60,000 per month, but eventually increase the number.