Passport for Umrah: Which Passport Is Valid, How Long It Must Be Valid and How to Get One

A passport for Umrah is the first and most basic document of the journey: the Umrah visa is issued against the passport details, the flight ticket is issued in the name printed in the passport, and entry into Saudi Arabia is possible only with a passport. Even so, every season some travellers are unable to set off because of a validity shortfall noticed at the last minute, a worn page or a surname that was never updated after marriage. In this article we have gathered, step by step, which passport type is valid for Umrah, whether you can travel with a green passport, the minimum validity a passport must have, the blank-page rule, passports for children, renewal and name-change situations, how to obtain a passport for the first time and how to protect it during the journey.

Is a Passport Compulsory for Umrah?

Yes, a passport is compulsory for Umrah and no other document can replace it. The identity card of the Republic of Türkiye allows travel only to certain neighbouring countries, and Saudi Arabia is not one of them. The Umrah visa is not issued as a standalone document either; it is issued against the identity details, passport number and expiry date recorded in the passport. This is why the passport must be in hand before the visa application and why the journey must be made with the same passport after the visa is issued. If the passport is lost or renewed after the visa has been granted, the visa has to be obtained again, because the system at the Saudi border matches the visa with the passport number declared in the application. This is also why a traveller registering for Umrah is asked to give the agency a legible copy of the passport’s identity page; our article on how the Umrah visa is obtained explains the details of that process.

Which Passport Is Valid for Umrah?

Four types of passport are issued in Türkiye, and not all of them are equally suitable for Umrah. The ordinary (maroon) passport is the standard passport any citizen can obtain, and the great majority of Umrah travellers travel with it. The special (green) passport is issued to certain public servants, retirees and their dependants; it can be used for private travel, and therefore for Umrah too. The service (grey) passport is issued to public servants for the period they are sent abroad on official duty, so it is not appropriate for a private journey such as Umrah. The diplomatic (black) passport is reserved for diplomatic duties. The table below summarises the four types from the point of view of Umrah.

Can you go to Umrah with a green passport?

Yes, you can go to Umrah with a green passport; however, the visa exemption that the green passport provides for some countries does not apply to Saudi Arabia. A green passport holder obtains an Umrah visa just like a maroon passport holder, is subject to the same health and vaccination requirements and goes through the same entry procedures. The only practical difference of the green passport is the visa convenience it offers on connecting journeys or on programmes that continue to a European country after Umrah; it carries no privilege regarding Umrah itself.

How Long Must a Passport Be Valid for Umrah?

Passport validity is the issue that causes the most trouble in Umrah applications, because a passport being “valid” and being “sufficient for Umrah” are not the same thing. Saudi Arabia requires the passport of any foreigner entering the country to be valid for at least six months from the date of entry, and the same rule is applied in the Umrah visa application. In practice the period is counted from the date of entry rather than the return date, but agencies and airlines recommend having at least six months remaining after the return date in order to stay on the safe side. A visa application made with a passport that has less than six months left is refused, or the airline does not allow the traveller to board. If you are getting a new passport, choosing the longest validity available is the least troublesome path for both Umrah and later journeys; in Türkiye passports are issued for various periods from six months up to ten years.

Important: Check your passport’s expiry date today. If less than six months remain from your date of entry for Umrah, renew the passport before you register; since the visa is issued against the passport number, getting the visa first and changing the passport afterwards means a new visa application.

Do you need blank pages in the passport?

Yes; there must be at least one, preferably two, blank pages in the passport for the entry and exit stamps. A passport whose pages are full can cause problems at the airport even if its validity is fine. In addition, the identity page must not be torn, water-damaged, smudged or have a faulty chip; the devices at Saudi border points read the chip page, and unreadable passports can be turned away. All passports issued in Türkiye since 2010 carry a chip; if the passport in your hand is worn, it needs to be renewed even if its validity is sufficient.

How to Get a Passport for Umrah

In Türkiye, passport applications are made at the district civil registry offices attached to the General Directorate of Civil Registration and Nationality (NVİ); an appointment is first booked through e-Devlet or the NVİ appointment system. On the appointment day the applicant goes to the office in person, fingerprints and a signature are taken, and the photograph and documents are handed in. The passport is printed after the application and delivered by PTT courier to the address given in the application; in most provinces this takes a few working days, but it can take longer in busy periods such as Umrah seasons and the summer holidays. This is why the passport should be sorted out weeks before the Umrah registration, and why it pays to act early for Ramadan Umrah and school-holiday periods in particular; registrations for Ramadan Umrah open months in advance. The application steps are as follows:

1. Book an appointment: through the “Passport Appointment” service on e-Devlet or via the NVİ appointment system, choosing the province, district and day.
2. Pay the passport booklet fee and the passport duty, which varies with the validity period you choose; payment is made through e-Devlet, the tax office or the contracted banks, and the receipt is requested at the application.
3. Have a biometric photograph taken: a photo taken within the last six months, with a white background and a clearly visible face.
4. On the appointment day go to the civil registry office with your Turkish identity card, photograph and fee receipt; take your old passport too if you have one.
5. After the application, track the status of your passport on e-Devlet and be at home for the PTT delivery, or give a relative power of attorney.

How many years of validity should you choose?

In the application you choose how many years the passport will be valid for, and the duty changes according to that period. Although six months of validity may seem enough for Umrah, a short-validity passport brings the hassle of renewal on every journey and, because of the “six-month rule”, is often not even enough for a single trip. Umrah travellers are usually advised to take a five- or ten-year passport; that way no new application is needed for the next Umrah, Hajj or cultural tours. The duty for a ten-year passport is higher, but it is the option with the lowest cost per year.

Passports for Children and Those Under 18

Passport procedures for children travelling to Umrah with their family take a little longer than for adults, which is why the children’s passports are looked at first in family registrations. Every child going to Umrah needs a separate passport regardless of age; children cannot be entered in a parent’s passport. For those under eighteen, both parents must give their consent in the application; if custody rests with one side, the court decision is submitted, and if a parent has died, the relevant document is provided. A parent living abroad can give consent through the consulate. An up-to-date photograph is especially important in children’s passports; because the faces of babies and small children change quickly, passports with photographs taken years earlier can lead to extra checks at the border. The child’s Umrah visa is also issued separately against the child’s own passport; in a family registration the child’s details are given to the agency separately. The preparation section of our article with tips for first-time Umrah travellers also helps families going to Umrah with children.

Passport Renewal and Name Changes

The renewal application for passports that have expired, are about to expire or are worn is made the same way as the first application; the old passport is handed in with the application or returned with a cancellation stamp. People whose name or surname has changed through marriage, divorce or a court decision must renew their passports, because the Umrah visa and the flight ticket are issued in the name in the passport, and a mismatch between the identity card and the passport stops the journey at the airport. If the old passport contains a valid visa or residence permit, carrying the old passport together with the new one works for some countries; but if the Saudi Umrah visa remains in the old passport, the visa must be obtained again for the new passport. The criterion that applies at renewal is again the six-month rule: apply without delay for a passport whose validity is insufficient for your Umrah date.

How Is the Umrah Visa Recorded in the Passport?

Knowing the link between the passport and the visa also shows you which document to prepare when. Today the Saudi Arabian Umrah visa is issued electronically; instead of a sticker placed in the passport, a record tied to the passport number is created and the traveller is given a printout of the visa document. At the border point the officer scans the passport, sees the visa in the system and stamps the entry. This is why the passport details in the visa application must be entered letter for letter; a single error in the name, surname, date of birth or passport number causes trouble at entry. The agency makes the visa application with the traveller’s passport copy and biometric photograph; the health requirements include the meningitis vaccine, and our article on the Umrah vaccine explains the details of that requirement. Citizens of Türkiye can also benefit from Saudi Arabia’s e-visa programme outside Umrah, but the visa of those travelling with an Umrah organisation is obtained by the agency and the traveller does not need to take any separate action.

Protecting Your Passport During the Journey

Obtaining the passport and having the visa processed is half the job; keeping the passport intact and at hand throughout the journey is just as important. The passport is the most valuable item you will carry during Umrah. It is asked for again and again: on leaving Türkiye, on entering Saudi Arabia, at hotel check-ins and again on the return; identity checks can also be made on the journey between Makkah and Madinah. Save a photograph of the identity page on your phone, put a photocopy in your suitcase and leave a copy with a relative in Türkiye. If the passport is lost or stolen, inform the agency representative and apply to the Turkish Consulate General in Jeddah; after identity verification the consulate issues a temporary travel document for the return. Since this process can take days, keeping the passport in the hotel safe or in a document pouch worn around the neck, and not taking it with you during tawaf and sa’y, is the safest course. Our Umrah packing list article covers the other items to take with you on Umrah.

• Keep a photograph of the identity page on your phone and in a cloud backup.
• Carry the visa printout, flight ticket and hotel details in the same folder as the passport.
• Do not have the passport on you while putting on ihram or during tawaf; use the hotel safe or the arrangement set by the group leader.
• The day before the return flight, check that the passport is in your hands and intact.

Pre-Umrah Passport Checklist

To boil the sections above down to a single list: before you register, check the following: is the passport type suitable for Umrah, is the expiry date at least six months after your date of entry for Umrah, is there at least one blank page, are the identity page legible and the chip intact, are the name and surname in the passport the same as on the identity card, and are a separate passport and consent ready for each child? If you answer “no” to any of these, finish the passport work before registering for Umrah. After registering, give the agency a colour, legible copy of the passport; the visa application can only be opened with that copy. You can look at our Umrah departure cities page for departure cities, connections and airport procedures, at our Umrah tours page for programmes, and use our contact channels for your questions. The document list for those going to Hajj differs from Umrah; it is explained separately in our article on documents required for Hajj.

Frequently Asked Questions