Non-procedural Hajj, 117 Indonesian Citizens Returned From Medina

The Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in Jeddah reported that 117 Indonesian citizens with working visas (AMIL) were prevented from entering Saudi Arabia and sent home by the immigration apparatus at Madinah Airport returned to Indonesia.

"A total of 117 Indonesian citizens arrived in Medina using two planes, each Saudi airline SV827 on May 14, 2025 (49 Indonesian citizens Passengers) and Saudia airline SV813 on May 15, 2025 (68 Indonesian citizens)," said the Hajj Consul in Jeddah. B. Ambary reported by ANTARA, Friday, May 17.

Yusron said the Jamaah Protection Team (Linjam) of the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah received information regarding a number of Indonesian citizens being detained at the Saudi Arabian Immigration on May 14, 2025.

They tried to enter Saudi Arabia using a work visa but were suspected of carrying out the pilgrimage non-procedurally.

The hundreds of Indonesian citizens came using work visas, but physically there were irregularities because some Indonesian citizens were elderly, while the visa they had was a worker's visa.

"This condition sparked suspicions from the immigration authorities, so they took steps to prevent them from entering Saudi Arabia," he said.

After being interrogated, several of them acknowledged that the purpose of arriving in Saudi Arabia was to make pilgrimages. The Linjam team of the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah accompanied the entire process of taking information and fingerprints of Indonesian citizens by the Saudi Arabian immigration apparatus.

Then, said Yusron, the 117 Indonesian citizens were sent back to Indonesia using the Saudia SV 3316 airline, transited to Jeddah, and continued flights to Jakarta using the Saudia airline SV826 on May 15, 2025.

"They are planned to arrive in Jakarta on May 16, 2026 at 22:45 WIB," he said.

According to Yusron, in the period 3 to 15 May 2025, based on the monitoring of the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah, it was recorded that more than 300 Indonesian citizens from various regions used work visas (amil) and visit visas (trials) arrived at several airports in Saudi Arabia with the aim of illegally Hajj.

"In terms of their modus operandi, they are also starting to change. If at the beginning they used uniform attributes (wear and suitcases), now they are disguising and avoiding attribute uniformity," he said.

The Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah again appealed to all Indonesian citizens not to be involved in non-procedural hajj activities, and to always comply with applicable regulations and regulations in Saudi Arabia.

"Let us be wise in responding to God's orders to perform the pilgrimage, lest the money lost for Hajj be lost," said Yusron.