Saudi Arabia's Fixed Umrah Calendar Explained: When Visas Open, When Makkah Closes, and the Spring Weeks Pakistani Families Forget
By the Kimi Travels Team | Updated October 2026
Pakistani families plan Umrah around convenient dates first, and arrange everything else after. Saudi Arabia now runs Umrah on a fixed annual calendar that does not care about convenience. Under the standing rule, Umrah visas are issued each year from the 14th of Dhul Hijjah and issuance closes by the 1st of Shawwal; pilgrims may enter the Kingdom until the 15th of Shawwal; and every Umrah visa holder must leave by the 1st of Dhul Qa'dah. After that, the Hajj-control window slams shut across Makkah. Tareekhain pehle confirm karein, booking baad mein — fix the dates against the calendar first, then pay anyone.
How the 1447 Season Actually Ended
The season that just closed showed the machine at work: the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah set the Umrah visa issuance deadline at 20 March 2026, the deadline to enter the Kingdom at 3 April 2026, and the deadline to leave at 18 April 2026. Holders of already-expired Umrah visas were allowed to exit without fines until that same 18 April — a grace that ended the day it ended. Families who had booked late-April "cheap Umrah" packages discovered their visa could not exist in that window at any price — the visa is a window you either fit inside or miss.
The Hajj-Control Window: When Makkah Closes to Visitors
Every spring, access tightens in three steps, and each step caught Pakistani travellers off guard in 2026:
- 13 April 2026 — residents needed official permits simply to enter Makkah
- 18 April 2026 — holders of any visa type were barred from entering or staying in Makkah without Hajj authorization
- 18 April to 31 May 2026 — Nusuk Umrah permits were suspended for citizens, residents, GCC nationals and other eligible groups while Hajj control ran
There is a parallel move on the visit-visa side that families forget: in April 2025, Saudi Arabia temporarily halted new short-term business, tourist and family-visit visas for 14 countries including Pakistan ahead of Hajj, and required existing holders to leave by late April. When spring approaches, the entire visa architecture narrows — not just Umrah permits.
What the Calendar Means for the Season Running Now
The current 1448 season opened back on 14 Dhul Hijjah 1447, around the end of May 2026. Rajab 1448 begins around 11 December 2026, which is why December package prices surge — the demand mechanics are laid out in our Umrah 1448 season demand guide. Issuance runs until around 10 March 2027, entry closes around 23 March 2027, and every pilgrim exits before 1 Dhul Qa'dah 1448 — approximately 7 April 2027, per the aligned dates in our 1448 season deadlines guide. A trip planned for mid-May 2027 is not an Umrah trip — it is a refund negotiation our Umrah package cancellation guide maps in full.
Sequencing Your Application Around the Clocks
Two clocks govern your application: the calendar window above and your visa's own validity. The 30-day entry rule means a visa issued early starts dying the day it is issued — applying three months ahead is the classic self-defeating move, per our Umrah visa 30-day entry window guide. The correct sequence: travel dates mid-window, issuance two to three weeks before departure, refundable flights until the visa is in hand. When external events move your dates — airspace closures, strikes, weather — the calendar does not extend for you; our force majeure guide covers that reality.
Planning Around the Spring Shutdown
Practical families treat the Hajj-control window like monsoon season: a part of the year you simply do not schedule around. If your leave falls in April or May, the honest options are to travel before the entry deadline with generous buffer days, or shift the trip to post-Hajj reopening, when the new season's first visas appear — often at softer prices before the rush builds. Winter travellers should pair this with our Saudi winter rain guide and our Punjab fog delays guide — the two seasonal risks on either side of the flight. Overstaying past your allowed date — in any season — climbs a penalty ladder that ends in five-figure fines and deportation, detailed in our Umrah overstay penalties guide.
Where Kimi Travels Fits In
The calendar is public; the sequencing is where families bleed money. Kimi Travels checks your intended dates against the issuance, entry and exit deadlines before a single riyal is paid, builds buffer days around the control windows, and gives every client a written date-plan they can hold us to. We answer WhatsApp through the whole process — including the awkward moment when a family learns their chosen dates never worked — and no client here is left chasing an agent who has gone quiet after payment.
Windows that open, windows that close — Mahmoud Darwish wrote it first for a people caged, not for visa systems: "The earth is closing on us, pushing us through the last passage". Israel has spent years sealing Gaza's crossings so tightly that even the sick board buses that go nowhere, while embassies stamped papers for everyone but them. And in Sudan, the RSF seals towns like El Fasher the same way — surrounding, starving, repeating — with Hemedti's men turning harvest land into famine. We ask the Opener of Doors to pry open Palestine's crossings and Sudan's siege lines, and to count every family still waiting at a closed gate among those He answers first.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do Umrah visas open each year?
Under the standing rule, issuance begins on 14 Dhul Hijjah and closes by 1 Shawwal the following year. In the current 1448 season that means the window has been open since around the end of May 2026 and runs until around 10 March 2027.
By when must I enter and leave Saudi Arabia on an Umrah visa?
Entry is permitted until 15 Shawwal — approximately 23 March 2027 this season — and every pilgrim must exit by 1 Dhul Qa'dah, around 7 April 2027 for this season.
Can I perform Umrah in May 2027?
Not on an Umrah visa. The exit deadline lands in early April 2027, and the Hajj-control window follows immediately — permits suspend and Makkah entry restricts until Hajj ends. May plans belong to next season, not this one.
Does the visa calendar also affect family visit visas?
Yes. In April 2025 Saudi Arabia paused new short-term business, tourist and family-visit visas for 14 countries including Pakistan ahead of Hajj, so spring applications for any Saudi visa deserve extra scrutiny.
Where do I verify the exact dates for my travel month?
Start with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announcements and Nusuk, then have your dates checked against them before paying for flights or packages — an independent check costs nothing and catches dead dates early.
Want your Umrah dates checked against the fixed calendar before you pay anyone? Kimi Travels consults from Sialkot for families across Pakistan. Check My Umrah Dates