Minister Of Religion Threatens Sanctions Of Hajj Travel Bureau With Unofficial Visa

Archives - Pilgrims of Hajj candidates walk to the Syib Amir terminal at the Grand Mosque, Makkah, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday (4/6/2024). (ANTARA).

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) will give strict sanctions to travel agencies or pilgrims who offer hajj travel packages without using official visas for Hajj. "We will give sanctions to travelers who provide visas in addition to official visas for Hajj," said Minister of Religion (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas in a statement in Jakarta, quoted from ANTARA, Wednesday, June 5.Gus Men, as he is familiarly called, expressing warnings that Hajj can only be issued by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will take firm action. I have also conveyed that you should not go for Hajj without official visas," he continued. It is known that the Hajj visa is regulated in Law Number 8 of 2019 concerning the Implementation of Hajj and Umrah (PIHU). Article 18 of the PIHU Law stipulates that the Indonesian Hajj visa consists of an Indonesian quota Hajj visa, and the Hajj visa mujamalah invitation of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "Outside that it will definitely be a problem, and it is proven that several Indonesian pilgrims will be subject to the rules imposed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," said Gus Men. For information, the visa of the Indonesian Hajj quota is divided into two, the regular Hajj visa organized by the government and special Hajj organizers organized by the Special Hajj Organizer (PIHK).

This year, Indonesia's hajj quota is 221,000 people. Indonesia also received an additional 20,000 quotas, so that the total Indonesian hajj quota in the 1445 H/2024 M operation was 241,000 people. For Indonesian citizens who received a mujamalah Hajj visa invitation from the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the PIHU Law stipulates that their departure is mandatory through the PIHK, with PIHK dispatching Indonesian citizens who receive a mujamalah Hajj visa invitation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia obliged to report to the Minister of Religion.