Saudi Consulate Visa Problems Deprive Thousands of Algerians from Performing Umrah

National Office for the Hajj and Umrah intervened for the benefit of the travel agencies that organize this season’s Umrah, after the Saudi consulate in Algeria seized thousands of passports of Algerian pilgrims.

NOHU said this problem is due to the lack of visa papers which are printed on the passports of pilgrims, while the travel agencies are facing financial difficulties, especially as they incurred many losses because of this crisis.

Identical sources told Echorouk that Algerians who wish to travel to the holy sites to perform Umrah are worried, these days, because the Saudi Arabia Consulate services made delays in granting the visas, and argued that there is a lack of visa papers which are printed on the passports of pilgrims, without providing other details, which pushed the NOHU to intervene in order to settle the file through insuring flights for the first group of pilgrims.

NOHU confirmed, in a statement, on Friday, that it took the travel agencies’ concerns into consideration regarding the visas, especially since a large number of them protested in front of the Saudi Consulate, last Wednesday, in Algiers, because of the delayed release of their customers’ passeports.

“First group of pilgrims travelled on Friday, and will continue here on Saturday, according to the agreement that was reached by the NOHU with the Saudi Consulate.”

On the other hand, the NOHU called upon all the protesting travel agencies to go to its headquarters, after it opened a special door, on Friday, that extended from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm, and on Saturday from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, in order to ratify the reference numbers and modifications that can be carried out by agencies on the flights calendar.