RIAYDH: Saudi Arabia is set to fold a mandatory daily catering charge directly into the Umrah visa fee. Under the new policy, every Umrah pilgrim will pay approximately 20 Saudi Riyals per day for a Nusuk meal voucher.
The charge will be embedded in the visa fee rather than collected separately, mirroring how mandatory transport services already function on the Nusuk platform.
More than 10,000 restaurants are being connected to the Nusuk application to support the programme. Each pilgrim will be assigned an individual BRN meal code linked to their visa before it is issued, allowing them to redeem meals during their stay in the Kingdom.
The voucher value will be calculated based on the pilgrim’s length of stay and verified before the Umrah visa is granted.
The first phase of the rollout applies to four countries: Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Egypt. A wider expansion is expected to follow.
For agencies operating in these markets, the change consolidates package pricing, visa generation, and catering verification into a single workflow on the Nusuk platform. This means outdated pricing or an unregistered caterer can stall a booking outright.
Agencies will need to ensure their pricing models reflect the new embedded catering cost and that their catering partners are registered on Nusuk to avoid disruptions in visa processing.
Saudi Arabia To Include | Mandatory Meal Voucher Into Umrah Visa
