In late February this year, the Saudi government imposed a temporary ban on Umrah travel due to the prevailing coronavirus pandemic. Those who had already made their travel arrangements were told through an official announcement by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj & Umrah on March 1 that all the intending Umrah pilgrims would be refunded their visa fees, insurance money and other charges through their respective travel agents. In April, social media reported that the Saudi government had started reimbursing the money to those Umrah travellers who could not go to Saudi Arabia due to the travel restrictions.
When people started contacting their local travel agents, they were plainly told that no such refund has been received from the Saudi government. Now, almost four-and-a-half months down the road the intended Umrah pilgrims are still running from pillar to post to get their money back but to no avail. Through these lines, I request the Saudi Embassy to kindly shed some light on the issue and inform the people when they would get back the refund for their Umrah fees (SAR 300), visa processing fees (SAR 93), insurance (SAR 189) and ground services (SAR 100) totaling to about SAR 682 per person?
S Zafar
Islamabad
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