Hajj Reporters
If efforts of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), yielded positive results, Saudi Arabian immigration services will be deployed to Nigerian airport to screen pilgrims before their departure to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for 2019 hajj exercise.
NAHCON has been working hard for Nigeria to be included in the ‘Road to Makkah’ project initiated in 2014 by Saudi Ministry of Hajj to ease transit processes for pilgrims worldwide”.
The services offered under the project include the issuance of visas, customs and passport procedures, facilitating health requirements, as well as sorting luggage according to transportation and housing arrangements in Saudi Arabia.
Most pilgrims wait long hours on arrival in Saudi Arabia for immigration screening because of the high number of pilgrims arriving the Kingdom from all over the world.
However, these pre-departure services are meant to ease the arrival of pilgrims in the Kingdom and also allow them to head directly to their accommodations in Makkah and Madinah without having to deal with time-consuming procedures.
If the request is approved, Saudi immigration staff will complete the immigration process in Nigerian airports.
Luggage will be handled by agencies that transport baggage directly to the pilgrim’s accommodation.
Others include the issuance of visas, customs and passport procedures, facilitating health requirements, as well as sorting luggage according to transportation and housing arrangements in Saudi Arabia.
These pre-departure services are meant to ease the arrival of pilgrims in the Kingdom and also allows them to head directly to their accommodations in Makkah and Madinah without having to deal with time-consuming procedures.
The pilot project will start from Islamabad Airport tomorrow to facilitate Pakistani pilgrims.
A spokesman of the Ministry of Religious Affairs said that a fifty-one member Saudi Immigration Team is arriving in Islamabad today for this purpose. He said the team will visit the Islamabad Airport soon after its arrival and install the required system there.
According to the Ministry, ten Haji camps have become functional across the country.
The government agencies involved in the projects are: Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Haj and Umrah, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Saudi Customs, and the National Information Center
