The Saudi embassy in Jakarta this week will begin issuing 210,000 Haj visas. About 5,000 visas will be issued per day making the whole process last about 40 days. Abdulaziz Abdullah Al-Raqabi, the head of the embassy's Consulate Department, said the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs has already been notified of the health guarantees required to obtain the Haj visas. Al-Raqabi said this year visas will only be granted to those carrying regular passports. Indonesia, like many other Asian countries, have the practice of issuing temporary passports especially for the purpose of Haj. The embassy started receiving Haj visa applications at the beginning of Ramadan and is expected to complete issuing the visas by the first week of October.
