Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, has endorsed new rules made by the Ministry of Haj which aim to eliminate the overstaying of Umrah pilgrims. The new rules stipulate that the computer service will be disconnected from outside Umrah agents if more than two percent of the Umrah pilgrims who were brought by these companies don't leave the country according to schedule on or before the dates set in their passports. Under the previous rules, the service would be disconnected if three percent of the foreign companies' Umrah pilgrims didn't leave the country as per the deadline shown in their customers' passports. The new rules also reduced the percentage of overstayers for local Umrah companies to 10 percent from 15. If that happens, these companies' licenses would be revoked automatically. According to sources at the ministry, the percentage for foreign agencies would be reduced to one percent in the new Umrah season for 2009. The new Umrah rules also make it mandatory for the local Umrah companies to provide the ministry with an approval from the concerned authorities for the buildings in which they will house the Umrah pilgrims including contracts they signed with landlords indicating the capacity of each building.
