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For those who don't know, just a few days ago Saudi Arabia, known for being inaccessible, introduced a new e-visa system for a handful of countries, which include the whole Schengen area, the U.S and Australia, so whoever wants to visit it can do so with no struggle.

With regards to the question, it was not specific whether I can perform Umrah or not with that kind of visa, so can one perform umrah with it?

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    Is there an official link to this?
    – SergeyA
    Commented Sep 30, 2019 at 19:48
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    The evisa has been covered in travel.stackexchange.com/questions/143117/… and at least one other question, although given the specific question here this is not a dup as such
    – Doc
    Commented Sep 30, 2019 at 20:53
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    The e-visa was made available only a few days ago, hence my question is about an issue occurred very recently, not 2 months ago, even if it's about the same topic.
    – abdul
    Commented Sep 30, 2019 at 21:11
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    @abdul: If you expect other people to take time to answer your question, you could take 30s to add a link to Wikipedia to explain what Umrah is. Here it is, by the way: "an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that can be undertaken at any time of the year". Commented Oct 1, 2019 at 7:35
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    @abdul: But then SergeyA asked for a link, and you told him to google it. Just like you could google if it's possible to perform Umrah with an eVisa. Commented Oct 1, 2019 at 12:31

2 Answers 2

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Yes, you can perform Umrah while on a visit eVisa.

From the official eVisa website:

8.7 An eVisa is granted solely for tourist purposes or for the purpose of performing a umrah and it is not considered a visa for work. If you are granted an eVisa, you must not take up paid employment during your visit to KSA.

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  • Would it also allow doing a Hajj?
    – JonathanReez
    Commented Oct 1, 2019 at 5:07
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    @JonathanReez Hajj is subject to quota and other things, I do not think it will be allowed. Commented Oct 1, 2019 at 8:45
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    @abdul and risk making a tiny place more crowded? or getting caught and deported? just do it officially. Commented Oct 1, 2019 at 19:42
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    @abdul I thought you're talking about Hajj Commented Oct 1, 2019 at 21:27
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    @abdul to perform hajj you must have either a hajj visa, or a permission. Even saudis must have a permission or they will face a serious fine. The quota is for safety, the place is tiny and squeezing 3 million people in it is difficult, having people come with no plan is the last thing the authorities want. Just remember, 1.3 billion muslims who are required to do it once in their lifetime, allowing people to perform it as they wish is really a bad decision. Currently it is allowed to do it once every 5 years. Regarding EU quota it depends on the muslim population in any given country. Commented Oct 3, 2019 at 15:56
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Yes, you can perform Umrah on a Saudi Arabian e-visa.

From this news article:

Among the most important features of the Saudi tourist visa, is the visa holder can benefit from it in performing Umrah, women need not be accompanied by a male relative, other than in the Haj season, and there is no need for a sponsor (kafeel) the way it is required for work visas.

[...]

They can get their visas manually via the Kingdom’s representative offices abroad (embassies, consulates, etc.) and electronically without preconditions for 49 nationalities, including Europe, Asia and America.

Also backed up by another news article here.

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