Umrah External Agent: How Overseas Agencies Contract with Saudi Umrah Companies

Short answer: An Umrah external agent is a travel agency licensed in its own country that sells Umrah as the contracted agent of a licensed Saudi Umrah company. For 1448 AH, agents are qualified and sign their contract on Nusuk Masar. The Saudi company provides every service inside the Kingdom; the agent sells, files visas and sends pilgrims.

What is an Umrah external agent?

The Ministry defines the authorized external agent as "one of the approved channels authorized to submit visa applications on behalf of those wishing to perform Umrah" (opens in new tab). The other two channels are the Nusuk platform and the Saudi visa platform.

The Executive Regulations for Organizing Umrah Services describe two parties:

The line between the two is strict. Article 22 says the external agent may not perform any work or service inside the Kingdom. The 1445 controls repeat it: the agent must not buy or provide services in Saudi Arabia "except through the Saudi Umrah company". Source: Executive Regulations (Arabic, 1437H edition) (opens in new tab).

How does an agency become an external agent for 1448 AH?

The process starts with a Saudi Umrah company, not with the Ministry. The 1448 season calendar, published by the Ministry on 17 May 2026 (opens in new tab), set this order:

The contract itself is digital. The Pakistani state news agency, citing the Saudi Press Agency, reported "a unified digital contract model verified using QR code technology on the Nusuk platform" (opens in new tab). For the previous season, the Ministry opened the qualification service on 25 March 2025 (opens in new tab), so the window moves every year.

In practice: agree terms with a Saudi company early in the year, keep your home licence and documents current, and be ready to complete qualification on Nusuk Masar when your partner starts it. Our Nusuk Masar guide explains the platform.

What documents and guarantee are required?

The Ministry's controls document for season 1445 (opens in new tab) (issued 3 July 2023) is the latest published list. It asked external agents for:

• Commercial register: a copy certified by your country's authorities and by the Saudi diplomatic mission.
• IATA membership: required, with some countries exempt.
• Senior official: a passport copy, plus contact details, address and financial data.
• Contract: the Ministry's unified contract form, ratified by the Saudi mission in your country, with the Saudi signature certified by the Chamber of Commerce, submitted through the electronic Umrah path.
• Guarantee: "a financial guarantee in favour of the contracted Saudi Umrah company in the amount of 200,000 Saudi riyals", as a SWIFT or Saudi bank guarantee, or a pledge to issue one. The Executive Regulations (Art. 22) set the same minimum.

The same document lists the agent's duties: confirmed return tickets for every pilgrim, transfers for service packages from the agent's account abroad, and no direct purchases inside the Kingdom. It also says the Ministry may cancel an application at any time.

We found no published 1448 fee, minimum pilgrim number or document change. Treat the 1445 list as a baseline and confirm it with your Saudi partner.

How does the agent contract connect to visas?

Housing comes first. Since June 2025, Umrah visas are issued only against a documented contract with a licensed hospitality provider (opens in new tab), documented through Nusuk Masar. The Saudi Press Agency addressed the rule to "Umrah companies, establishments, and external agents". So an agent cannot file visas for a group until the Saudi company's housing contract for that group is in place.

The visa processing workflow covers the steps after that.

Who is responsible when something goes wrong?

The Executive Regulations put the Saudi company first:

• Services in the Kingdom: the Saudi licensee is directly responsible to the pilgrim and the Ministry (Art. 23).
• Overstay: the Saudi company must report a pilgrim who overstays without excuse within 24 hours and pay the return ticket. It may recover that cost from the external agent that sent the pilgrim (Art. 36).
• Exclusivity: the 1437H edition (Art. 24) bars a Saudi company from contracting with an agent already contracted to another company. We could not confirm whether this still applies in 1448, so check your contract.

Enforcement reaches agents directly. In December 2025, Arab News reported that the Ministry suspended an Umrah company and its overseas agent (opens in new tab) after pilgrims arrived without their contracted accommodation.

How are external agents evaluated and suspended?

The Ministry classifies agents against performance indicators. On 1 February 2026 it suspended contracts with 1,800 of about 5,800 foreign agencies (opens in new tab) after a periodic evaluation. They had 10 days to correct their status. The suspension stopped new visas only; visas already issued and existing bookings were not affected.

The indicators themselves are not published. Saudi companies face the same pressure: in June 2026 21 Umrah companies were suspended (opens in new tab), 15 of them for low performance ratings. When your Saudi partner is suspended, your pipeline stops too.

What an agency can control is its own data: accurate pilgrim files, on-time departures, no overstays, complaints closed. That is the record the Saudi company and the Ministry see.

Does Nusuk Umrah make external agents unnecessary?

No, but it is a competitor. Since August 2025, Nusuk Umrah lets pilgrims abroad apply directly (opens in new tab) for a visa and choose packages or single services. The Ministry's release keeps "accredited agents in the pilgrim's country" as an option. The platform's own page markets booking "without the need for external agents (opens in new tab)".

Agents keep the parts Nusuk Umrah does not do: local sales and payment in the pilgrim's currency, group handling, flights, documents, and help in the pilgrim's language before departure.

What licence do you need in your own country?

The Saudi side requires you to be licensed at home. Each country regulates this differently:

Rules change often, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan in 2025–26. Check with your regulator before you apply.

What should an external agent keep in its own system?

Nusuk Masar records the Saudi contract. The agency still needs its own record of everything around it:

• The Saudi partner contract, guarantee, and home licence with expiry dates.
• Pilgrim files: passports, visa status, flights and return tickets.
• Which group sits on which housing contract, so visas are filed only when rooms are documented.
• Sub-agents, sales, receipts and transfers to the Saudi company.
• Departures, returns and any overstay, which are the numbers you are rated on.

UmrahCore holds these in one booking record, with live connections to the Saudi Nusuk Masar platform and a Master → Reseller → Agent structure for sub-agent networks. See how each tier works.