TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has warned the public that Saudi Arabia will not issue furoda hajj visas for this year’s pilgrimage, urging prospective pilgrims to be cautious of any offers claiming to provide departures under that visa category.
“There is no such visa this year. Saudi Arabia is not issuing furoda hajj visas. The only legal document is an official hajj visa,” Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.
Dahnil said the growing number of social media offers promoting “no-queue” hajj departures should be treated with caution, as they could be part of fraud schemes or attempts to facilitate illegal pilgrimages.
To address the issue, the ministry is working with the National Police to establish an Illegal Hajj Prevention Task Force, which will be tasked with cracking down on non-procedural and unauthorized hajj departure schemes.
“That is what we want to prevent. If the practice continues, the police will automatically take criminal action,” he said.
Dahnil stressed that there are only two official channels for Indonesians to perform the hajj: the regular hajj program and the special hajj program. Any offer outside those routes, he said, does not comply with official regulations.
“There is no hajj without waiting. Hajj always involves a queue,” he said.
According to Dahnil, the waiting period for Indonesia’s regular hajj program is currently around 26 years, significantly shorter than in the past, when it could reach nearly five decades in some regions. The waiting time for the special hajj program is around six years.
He said claims of immediate departure without a waiting list, often marketed locally as “Haji Tenol” or “instant hajj”, are a strong indication of illegal practices that the public should avoid.
Dahnil added that the government is continuing to improve hajj management under President Prabowo Subianto's direction, including efforts to reduce waiting times to what he described as a more reasonable level.
The ministry urged the public not to be easily tempted by offers that do not follow official procedures and to ensure all registrations are made through authorized channels to avoid financial losses and potential legal problems.
Editor’s note: The headline was revised from "Indonesia Warns Saudi Will Not Issue Furoda Hajj Visas This Year" to "No Furoda Hajj Visas This Year, Indonesia Warns Pilgrims" to avoid ambiguity. The earlier version could be misread as Indonesia issuing a warning to Saudi Arabia, rather than Indonesia warning the public about Saudi Arabia’s policy. The revised headline makes it clearer that Indonesia is warning prospective pilgrims that no Furoda Hajj visas will be available this year.
Read: Indonesia Studies No-Queue Hajj Scheme Amid Long Waiting List
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