Umrah Visa and Travel Documents from the USA: The Complete Guide

To perform Umrah from the USA you need three things: a passport valid at least six months beyond your arrival date, a Saudi visa that allows Umrah, and an Umrah permit booked in the Nusuk app. U.S. citizens are eligible for the Saudi tourist eVisa, which the official portal says can be used for Umrah outside Hajj. Residents of the U.S. who hold another passport apply on the basis of that passport. Every traveler, including children, needs their own documents.

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.

At a glance

Step 1: Check every passport

The State Department’s Saudi Arabia page says passports must be valid for at least six months beyond your arrival date, with two blank pages for entry. Check every passport in your group before you request a quote, apply for visas or buy tickets. If one is short, renew it first; processing times are posted on the State Department passport page. Our guide to passport validity and documents has the full checklist.

Step 2: Choose the visa route for each traveler

The visa route depends on the passport each person holds. The main routes are:

• Tourist eVisa: for citizens of the eligible countries listed on the Saudi eVisa portal, which include the United States. The portal describes a one-year, multiple-entry visa allowing up to 90 days in the country, for tourism activities including “Umrah (excluding Hajj).”
• Visa on arrival: the State Department notes that U.S. citizens can also obtain a visa on arrival for a fee. Most pilgrims prefer to apply before they fly.
• Umrah visa: issued with a service package bought from an approved provider on the Nusuk Umrah platform. In July 2026 Saudi Arabia announced a multiple-entry Umrah visa valid for 365 days with a cumulative stay of up to 90 days.
• Through a U.S. visa or residency: Saudi Arabia has extended eVisa eligibility to some holders of valid U.S., UK or Schengen visas that have been used at least once, and to some permanent residents, under conditions set on the official portals.
• Transit visa: the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah’s guide describes a transit visa of up to 96 hours for some stopover passengers on Saudi Arabian Airlines; the State Department lists transit visas among the visas usable for Umrah.

Hajj is never covered by these visas; it needs a Hajj visa and permit through official channels. For a side-by-side comparison, read Saudi visa options for Umrah.

If you hold a U.S. passport

Most U.S. citizens use the tourist eVisa. Dual citizens should apply with the passport they will travel on, and U.S.-Saudi dual citizens must enter and leave Saudi Arabia on a Saudi travel document, according to the State Department. Read Umrah for U.S. passport holders.

If you are a green card holder or other U.S. resident

Start with the passport you hold. If your nationality is on the eVisa list, apply with that passport. If it is not, check whether your U.S. residency or a used U.S. visa makes you eligible, and plan your return to the U.S. as carefully as your trip out, using the USCIS guidance on travel as a permanent resident.

Step 3: Know the season dates

Umrah visas run by season. For the 1448 AH season, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah set these dates:

Separately, Saudi authorities restrict entry to Makkah for visitors around Hajj. In 2026, holders of all visa types other than Hajj visas could not enter or stay in Makkah from April 18, and Umrah permits were suspended until May 31, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The 2027 dates for tourist-visa holders had not been announced when we checked.

Step 4: Plan your Umrah permit in Nusuk

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah’s Umrah visit guide says all Muslim visitors, whatever their visa type, need an official permit to perform Umrah, obtained exclusively through the Nusuk app. Holders of the new multiple-entry Umrah visa must have their permit before arrival. Praying in the Rawdah in Madinah also requires a Nusuk booking. Our Nusuk guide explains how it works.

Step 5: Health documents

The State Department notes that quadrivalent meningococcal vaccination is required for Umrah travelers, and that yellow fever vaccination is required for arrivals from certain countries. Carry your vaccination record with your passport. See your doctor six to eight weeks before travel and check the CDC’s Saudi Arabia page for other advice.

Step 6: Documents for children and families

Each child needs their own passport and visa. The State Department advises carrying a copy of each child’s birth certificate or other proof of your relationship, and a single parent traveling with a child should also carry marriage, divorce or custody documents as relevant. If a child is traveling with only one parent, a signed consent letter from the other parent is a sensible precaution, even if no one asks for it.

Your document checklist

• Passport (original) for each traveler, valid 6 months beyond arrival, 2 blank pages
• Approved visa, printed and saved on your phone
• Nusuk account set up; Umrah permit booked for your planned time
• Vaccination record, including meningococcal
• Return flight confirmation and hotel confirmations
• Travel insurance policy and emergency number
• Green card (permanent residents), and any reentry permit if applicable
• Children: birth certificates, custody or consent documents
• Copies of everything stored separately from the originals

Hypothetical examples

A family from Chicago: both parents and two children are U.S. citizens; the grandmother holds a Pakistani passport and a green card. The four U.S. citizens apply for tourist eVisas. The grandmother’s route depends on whether her residency makes her eligible on the official portal; if not, the family considers an Umrah visa through an approved Nusuk provider. They check her green card’s expiry date before booking.

A couple from Houston: one is a U.S. citizen, the other a Canadian citizen living in Texas. Both nationalities are on the eVisa list, so each applies with their own passport.

A traveler from Los Angeles: a U.S.-Egyptian dual citizen. Egypt is not on the eVisa list, so they apply with their U.S. passport and travel on it consistently.

How we help

Where your quote includes visa support, our advisors can help you identify the right route for each traveler and prepare the application, and we explain how to book Nusuk permits. We cannot guarantee visas, permits or Rawdah appointments, which are decided and allocated by the Saudi authorities.

Check the travel advisory too: when we checked on October 21, 2026, the U.S. State Department’s advisory for Saudi Arabia was Level 3, “Reconsider travel” (issued October 12, 2026), citing risks that include regional armed conflict, missile and drone attacks, terrorism and exit bans. Read the current advisory before you book and before you fly, enroll in STEP and choose travel insurance that covers medical evacuation and trip disruption.

Plan with your documents in mind

Tell us which passports your group holds when you request a quote, and we will flag anything that needs attention before you book. Families can browse family Umrah packages. For the bigger planning picture, see our complete guide to Umrah from the USA.