Passport Validity and Documents for Umrah: The Six-Month Rule and Checklist

For Umrah, your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the date you arrive in Saudi Arabia and have two blank pages for entry, according to the U.S. State Department. Check every passport in your group, including children’s, before you book anything. If one falls short, renew it first, because a Saudi visa is tied to the passport you apply with.

Requirements vary by nationality, visa type and the rules in force when you apply, and they change often. This guide is general information checked against official sources on October 21, 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Visa decisions are made solely by the Saudi authorities, and no agency, including ours, can guarantee approval.

This guide is part of our Umrah visa and travel documents guide.

How to check the six-month rule

1. Find your planned arrival date in Saudi Arabia. Remember that overnight flights from the U.S. often land the next day.
2. Add six months.
3. Compare with the expiry date in your passport. It must be later.
4. Count the blank visa pages. You need at least two.

Build in a margin. If your flight is delayed by a day or your dates change, a passport that only just passes can suddenly fail.

Renewing a U.S. passport

Renew if your passport fails the six-month rule, is short of blank pages, is damaged, or no longer reflects your name. Processing times vary through the year and are posted on the State Department passport page, which also explains expedited service and when you must apply in person. Renew before applying for a Saudi visa, since the visa is linked to the passport number.

Children’s passports

U.S. passports issued to children under 16 are valid for only five years and must be applied for in person with both parents’ consent, so they are often the ones that catch families out. Check them first.

If you discover a problem late

If you find an expiring or damaged passport close to departure, check the State Department passport page for expedited service and for urgent in-person appointments for imminent international travel, which have their own eligibility rules. Do not apply for a Saudi visa on a passport you are about to replace. If the timing no longer works, it is usually better to move the trip than to risk being refused boarding.

Damaged passports

Water damage, torn pages, a loose cover or a damaged photo page can make a passport invalid for travel even if it has not expired. If yours is in poor condition, replace it before applying for your visa.

Babies and newborns

Every traveler needs a passport, including a newborn. A baby’s first passport is applied for in person with the birth certificate and both parents’ consent, and it needs its own Saudi visa. If you are planning Umrah soon after a birth, allow for passport processing before you book.

Names must match

Your visa application, airline ticket and hotel bookings should use your name exactly as it appears in your passport. Watch for:

• Middle names that are in the passport but left off a booking.
• Married names used on tickets when the passport still shows a maiden name, or the reverse.
• Different spellings of transliterated names across family members’ documents.

The complete document checklist

Every traveler

• Passport valid six months beyond arrival, two blank pages
• Saudi visa (printed and on your phone)
• Umrah permit in the Nusuk app, and any Rawdah appointment
• Vaccination record, including the meningococcal vaccine the State Department lists as required for Umrah travelers
• Return flight confirmation
• Hotel confirmations for Makkah and Madinah
• Travel insurance policy number and emergency phone line
• Prescriptions for any medications, in original packaging

Green card holders

• Valid green card, and a reentry permit if you have one. See the USCIS travel guidance and our overview of Saudi visa options.

Families with children

• Copy of each child’s birth certificate or other proof of relationship (State Department advice)
• For a single parent: marriage, divorce or custody documents as relevant
• A signed consent letter from the other parent if they are not traveling

Originals, copies and digital backups

• Keep originals in a zipped pouch in your carry-on, never in checked bags.
• Keep a printed copy of each passport photo page and visa in a different bag.
• Store digital copies in a secure, password-protected place you can reach from your phone.
• Leave a copy with someone at home.

If a U.S. passport is lost or stolen abroad, contact the U.S. Embassy or a consulate in Saudi Arabia. A copy of the photo page speeds up a replacement.

Hypothetical examples

A family from Columbus, Ohio plans to arrive on December 22. The father’s passport expires in May, so it fails by a month; he renews in August. A woman from Sacramento booked her ticket in her married name, but her passport still shows her maiden name; she corrects the booking before applying for her visa. A father from Atlanta traveling with his daughter carries her birth certificate and her mother’s consent letter.

Get your documents checked before you book

When you request a quote, tell us each traveler’s passport expiry date and nationality. We will flag anything that needs attention before you commit. For family trips, browse family Umrah packages, and see Umrah for U.S. passport holders for the visa steps.