Cairo -

Sherry Abdel-Malak put her suitcase in the travel hall at Cairo Airport, and walked towards the passport office, while she was paying him with her passport, before she was surprised by a question she did not expect, "Where is the barcode?".

The employee rejected her arguments that she did not need the barcode because she is a Christian, and her travel - as scheduled - does not require obtaining a "barcode" required to travel to Saudi Arabia for the purpose of performing Umrah.

An incident circulated by users of communication sites in the past two days, and denied by a member of the Chamber of Tourism, Majdi Sadiq, before tweeters returned to confirm its authenticity and attach documents indicating it, and regardless of the accuracy of the incident, its significance, which was captured by tweeters, with great irony, indicates widespread objections to the issue of "barcode". ".

What is Umrah barcode?

The Umrah barcode is one of the most important requirements for travel to perform the rituals. It is an identification code for the Umrah performer, and the code is linked automatically with the various competent authorities.

Egyptians seeking to perform Umrah believe that "regulated collection of funds is the only purpose of this procedure, by making the gate barcode a condition for travel, which means an extra burden on them and additional gains for tourism companies," while officials of the Ministry of Tourism assert that "the procedure aims to ensure the safety and security of pilgrims."

Those wishing to perform Umrah can obtain the barcode by applying for it directly through the electronic portal for Umrah and paying its fees of 3,500 pounds (the dollar is about 31 pounds) or through a tourism company within all costs, and its validity is 7 days from the date of its issuance.

And with the recent return of the Umrah seasons during Rajab, Shaaban and Ramadan, the controversy over the barcode was renewed in conjunction with a statement by the Chamber of Tourism Companies stressing the need for travelers to Saudi Arabia to obtain the barcode from the Umrah portal on the Internet, otherwise the traveler will not pass through the airport, except for specific exceptions.

And Saudi Arabia issued a few weeks ago procedures according to which it grants travelers to it through its airlines a free short-term visa, for visits, tourism and Umrah, at a time when the “Umrah barcode” raises the cost of performing the rituals - which is the value of the barcode - above the original value.

The Ministry of Tourism also provided visas for the government visit to the Umrah gate, and the need to obtain a barcode before traveling 🙅🏻‍♂️ https://t.co/o6kqdV4akF

- Ahmad (@A7madAnw) February 9, 2023

The Chamber of Tourism stressed that visits by personal invitation to Saudi Arabia are included in the Umrah portal, and the emphasis came after the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Wafiq bin Fawzan, announced facilities for Egyptians wishing to perform Umrah, through the “Nusk” platform.

During a press conference held a few weeks ago at the Saudi embassy in Cairo, Fawzan confirmed that the cost of the visa and residence for 5 days is 4,400 pounds, although the cost of the visa alone for Umrah was more than 6,000 pounds.

The visit transit visa for travelers to the Kingdom by air includes a number of features:

  • Free and instant visa with travel ticket.

  • The visa grants its holder residence for 4 days in the Kingdom.

  • It is valid for 4 months.

  • It allows moving around the Kingdom and attending various events.

  • Its bearer is allowed to perform Umrah without Hajj.

#Barcode_Omrah


Praise be to God, after I did the Umrah and returned safely...I had to write about the barcode. It is a need like this. It is not necessary and it is only a kind of theft and bullying practiced on us by tourism companies in agreement with the Ministry of Tourism itself. First: What is this barcode...This is an identification


mark

- Asfoura Al Sharq (@sahar_elsedawy) February 5, 2023

 unconventional ways

Immediately after the issuance of these procedures, Egyptians traded many ways to perform Umrah at a more affordable price than the usual route, for example:

  • Traveling to a third country does not require an entry visa, provided that the trip includes a transit work in Jeddah with obtaining an entry visa to Saudi Arabia, then performing Umrah and returning to Jeddah and then to Egypt.

  • Traveling through the Haya card, which allows entry to the Gulf countries, including the Kingdom.

  • Traveling to one of the Egyptian cities, Sharm el-Sheikh, for example, on a trip that includes transit in the city of Jeddah, and there the traveler takes the train to Mecca to perform the Umrah and returns on the same day.

  • Using Saudi Airlines or Nas Airlines for transportation.

Despite the widespread circulation of these procedures, which seem easy and tempting, fears have arisen among some of the possibility of arrest at airports under the pretext of not following the correct procedures or the expiry of the powers of some procedures.

Omar Abdullah, who is the director of a tourism company in Egypt, considers these methods to be "illegal circumvention", and in the end, as he explained in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, methods "empty Umrah of its spirituality to save a small amount that does not exceed 5 thousand pounds, while companies provide Tourism is an enjoyable spiritual journey for pilgrims, which includes a comprehensive program of rituals, holy lands and shrines.

The importance of the barcode

In defense of the idea of ​​official procedures, Ahmed Ibrahim, who is the executive advisor to the Egyptian Umrah Gate of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Chamber of Tourism Companies, spoke to Al-Jazeera Net, explaining that the decision to oblige pilgrims to barcode was issued based on a law in this regard, and sets a program for the pilgrims after completing all Housing and transportation procedures to secure pilgrims in the Holy Land.

Ibrahim added that the portal contributes to the protection of Egyptians from travel to Saudi Arabia until return, and helps to follow up the Umrah pilgrim and quickly intervene against any crisis they face there.

And about the efforts of some to avoid the barcode in other ways to perform Umrah at a lower cost, he indicated that the law allows a transit visa when traveling to another country, provided that it is a resident visa, stressing that there is no lower cost in any way, because companies get discounted prices for groups.

The spokesman denied that the costs of rituals for the Egyptian pilgrims are higher than their counterparts in other countries, pointing out that companies are forced to adhere to prices set by the state, according to specific mechanisms and controls that take into account the interests of all parties.

The cost of the Umrah in the usual way ranges between 25 and 40 thousand pounds, according to the visit program, and the cost of the barcode ranges between 3,500 and 5 thousand pounds, depending on how to obtain the barcode directly or through a tourism company.

The numbers of pilgrims

The number of Egyptian pilgrims declined last year compared to the previous year, according to complaints from the owners of tourism companies, although Egypt ranks fifth among countries in terms of the number of pilgrims.

According to official data, the number of those who have performed Umrah through Umrah programs since last October has exceeded 300,000 pilgrims.

And Saudi official data - regarding the period from the start of the Umrah season until last November - indicates that the number of those obtaining visas to perform Umrah exceeded 100,000.

So there are about 200,000 Egyptians who visited Saudi Arabia and most of them performed Umrah without taking the officially designated route, according to Magdy Sadek, a member of the Chamber of Tourism Companies.

Sadiq believed that the Kingdom's decision to grant visas for free had a negative impact on tourism companies, adding - in an intervention to a satellite channel - that all of them obtained the Saudi riyal in unofficial ways, because they would not be able to obtain it from banks that do not provide currency to the citizen except for the proven necessity of travel.

On the other hand, the courts are negotiating 3 lawsuits against the decision to compel the barcode, claiming that it is unconstitutional.

Surprisingly, tourism companies announced that they would intervene in the lawsuit and join the plaintiffs of the lawsuits against the Ministry of Tourism, and the closest date is the 24th of next month, and it is based on the fact that there is no reason for the traveler to benefit from it.