The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has announced that Umrah pilgrims from Bangladesh and four other countries must provide their biometric data, including “fingerprints” in order to get an electronic Umrah visa, reports Gulf News citing local media.
The other countries are — the United Kingdom, Tunisia, Kuwait and Malaysia.
Interested pilgrims will have to use the Saudi Visa Bio app that allows for visa registration via fingerprints and selfie biometrics to attend significant Muslim pilgrimages.
The new app delivers on a commitment made by the Saudi government late last year to allow biometrics enrolment through mobile devices so pilgrims to Makkah can avoid visiting visa centres in person, and makes the country one of the first in the world to accept biometrics by mobile for visa issuance.
In February this year, the kingdom also released an electronic passport with a chip that stores the user’s biometrics for authentication purposes.
While talking to The Business Post on Sunday, Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) President M Shahadat Hossain Taslim said, “Any new system may create some problems. In this case, our elderly pilgrims may face difficulty.
“However, we will send the pilgrims abiding by the rules set by the KSA authorities.”
As many as 3-3.5 lakh Bangladeshis go to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah every year, the HAAB president said.
