Umrah Visa for US Citizens: Tourist eVisa, Umrah Visa or Stopover Visa

Route 3: the 96-hour stopover visa

If you are flying through Saudi Arabia on Saudia or flynas, you can add a stopover visa while you book the flight. It allows a stay of up to 96 hours. The airlines say travelers can apply to perform Umrah during the stopover through Nusuk, but the visa cannot be used for Hajj.

Four days is enough for a focused Umrah in Makkah with a visit to Madinah if the timing works, but it leaves very little room for delays. We cover this route in detail in our guide to Umrah on a Saudi stopover.

The visa is not the permit

This is the point that catches most first-time travelers. The visa lets you into Saudi Arabia. The Nusuk permit lets you perform Umrah at a set time. They are separate, and you need both.

• Download the Nusuk app and create an account with your passport details before you travel.
• Book your Umrah permit for a date and time slot that fits your arrival in Makkah. In busy seasons, especially Ramadan, slots fill early.
• Book the Rawdah permit separately if you want to pray in the Rawdah at the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. It can be booked once every 365 days for the same person.
• Each family member needs their own booking, including children above the age the app specifies.

Our step-by-step guide to the Nusuk app and its permits walks through each screen.

Vaccinations required for Umrah

The Saudi health authorities publish the vaccination rules for each Umrah season. For the 1447H (2026) season, the rules that apply to travelers from the United States are:

• Meningococcal meningitis is required for everyone performing Umrah. It must include serogroups A, C, W and Y. A conjugate vaccine (ACYW or the newer ACYWX) is valid if given within the last 5 years. A polysaccharide ACYW vaccine is valid within the last 3 years. Either way, it must be given at least 10 days before you arrive.
• COVID-19 proof is required for higher-risk groups. That covers anyone over 65, pregnant women, and people with chronic heart, lung, kidney or neurological conditions, blood disorders, immune deficiency or cancer. Proof can be one dose of an updated 2025-2026 vaccine, a completed primary series received between 2021 and 2024, or laboratory-confirmed recovery during 2025.
• Polio and yellow fever rules apply only to arrivals from listed countries. The United States is not on those lists, but if you are traveling to Saudi Arabia from one of them, the extra requirements apply to you.

Ask your doctor or a travel clinic for the meningitis vaccine at least two weeks before departure, and ask for a record that names the vaccine and the date. The Saudi rules say that if the vaccine type is not shown on the certificate, it is treated as valid for three years only.

The health rules are recommendations as well as requirements. Seasonal flu vaccination is advised, travelers with chronic conditions should carry a summary of their condition and enough medicine in its original packaging, and older travelers are advised to avoid direct sun during the rituals.

Season dates: when Umrah visas stop and start

Umrah is open most of the year, but not all of it. The Ministry closes the Umrah visa season in the weeks before Hajj and reopens it after. For the 1447 season, the Ministry's calendar for international Umrah travelers was:

• Last date to issue Umrah visas: 1 Shawwal 1447 (about March 20, 2026).
• Last date to enter Saudi Arabia: 15 Shawwal 1447 (about April 3, 2026).
• Last date to leave Saudi Arabia: 1 Dhul Qa'dah 1447 (about April 18, 2026).
• Season reopened: visas from 14 Dhul Hijjah, after Hajj.

If the Ministry follows the same pattern for 1448, the cut-offs fall about eleven days earlier in the Gregorian calendar: Umrah visas would stop around the end of Ramadan in early March 2027, entry would close in the second half of March, and Umrah travelers would need to leave by early April 2027. Hajj 2027 is expected around May 14 to 19. Those 1448 dates are our estimate from last season's pattern, not an announcement, so check the Ministry's calendar before you fix dates in that window.

The tourist eVisa is valid all year, but the Umrah permit is not. Plan any Umrah for the spring of 2027 so it is complete well before the pre-Hajj closure. Our guide to the best time for Umrah in 2027 lays out the whole year month by month.

Documents to have ready

• A US passport valid for at least six months beyond your arrival date, with blank pages.
• Your approved visa, printed and saved on your phone.
• Your Nusuk Umrah permit, and the Rawdah permit if you booked one.
• Your meningitis vaccination record, and COVID-19 proof if you are in a group that needs it.
• Hotel confirmations for Makkah and Madinah, with the hotel's address in Arabic and English.
• Return or onward flight details.
• For converts to Islam, a certificate of Islam from a mosque or Islamic center, in case you are asked. Entry to Makkah is for Muslims only.

Women, children and families

Women. Under current Saudi rules, adult women can obtain the tourist eVisa and perform Umrah without a mahram. Many families still choose to travel together, and some scholars and families hold their own views on this. The visa rules themselves do not require it.

Children. Every child needs their own passport, visa and, above the age the Nusuk app sets, their own permit. Children performing Umrah follow the same meningitis rule as adults. Check the vaccine with your pediatrician well before travel, as the right product depends on the child's age.

Mixed-passport families. If one parent holds another nationality, check eligibility for each person separately. A family can hold different visa types on the same trip, as long as everyone has a valid visa and their own Nusuk permit.

Which route should you choose?

• Choose the tourist eVisa if you hold a US passport, want to choose your own hotels and dates, or may return within a year. It is the most flexible option.
• Choose an Umrah visa through a licensed provider if you are joining a group, your passport is not eligible for the eVisa, or you want everything arranged as one regulated package.
• Choose the stopover visa if you are already flying to Asia or Africa via Saudi Arabia and want a short Umrah on the way.
• For Hajj, none of these apply. US pilgrims book Hajj through the official Nusuk Hajj platform. See our guide to Hajj 2027 registration for US pilgrims.

Common mistakes we see

• Booking flights before checking the season dates. A return date after the Umrah departure deadline can mean changing tickets at short notice.
• Assuming the visa includes the permit. It does not. Book the Nusuk permit as soon as your dates are firm.
• Leaving the meningitis vaccine too late. It must be given at least 10 days before arrival, and appointments at travel clinics can take time.
• Typing the name differently on different systems. The visa, the Nusuk account and the airline ticket should all match the passport exactly.
• Buying a visa from an unofficial website. Some sites look official and add their own charges. Apply through the official portal or through the company arranging your trip.
• Counting 90 days per visit. The 90 days is the total time allowed in the country on that visa.

How Fond Travels can help

We plan Umrah trips for US families throughout the year, from first-timers to parents traveling with grown children. Here is what we take care of:

• The right visa route for each traveler, including mixed-passport families.
• Flights from your US airport into Jeddah or Madinah, including open-jaw tickets that fly in to one city and out of the other.
• Hotels chosen by walking distance to the Haram in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah.
• Transfers and the Haramain train between the two cities.
• Guidance on the Nusuk permits, so you know what to book and when.

See our Umrah packages from the USA, or call +1 (323) 800 6001. A travel expert answers any hour.