Hajj 2025 Policy: Pilgrims allowed to pay fee in instalments

The federal government has announced the Hajj Policy for 2025, which permits pilgrims to pay their Hajj fee in instalments.

The authorities have stated that a total of 179,210 pilgrims from Pakistan will perform Hajj in the coming year.

Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Chaudhry Salik Hussain shared the Hajj Policy 2025 in a presser on Monday.

While millions of Muslims from around the world come to Saudi Arabia for the annual religious congregation, Pakistan notably receives one of the highest Hajj quotas from Saudi Arabia.

Hajj quota

The minister informed the media that the “Hajj quota has been divided with a ratio of 50-50 between the government and private Haj schemes”, with 89,605 seats each reserved for the state and the private Hajj schemes, respectively.

However, 5,000 seats will be kept for sponsorship under the government Hajj scheme and 
30,000 seats will be reserved for sponsorship by private Hajj tour operators.

Additionally, foreign exchange must be sent through a banking channel to participate in the sponsorship scheme.

Unlike in previous years, the government clarified that the sponsorship scheme will operate on a 'first come, first served' basis and will be exempt from balloting.

The minister also mentioned that the government will use foreign exchange collected through the sponsorship scheme exclusively for Hajj-related expenses in Saudi Arabia.

Details of stay in Saudi Arabia

The Government Hajj Scheme includes the traditional long stay of 38 to 42 days.

Meanwhile, the short stay will be for 20 to 25 days.

Religious Affairs Minister also asserted that each organised private Hajj group must consist of at least 2,000 pilgrims in compliance with Saudi rules.

Cost of Hajj

As per Hajj Policy 2025, the cost of Hajj is expected to range between Rs1,075,000 to Rs1,175,000, while the additional cost for the Qurbani as part of the mandatory ritual of Hajj will be Rs55,000.

The minister has revealed that all the applicants choosing double-bed and triple-bed accommodation in Makkah will have to deposit an additional amount of Rs 75,000 and 220,000, respectively.

Instalments

The government has also introduced an instalment policy for paying Hajj dues.

Rs200,000 must be deposited along with the Hajj application under the Government Hajj Scheme as the first instalment.

The second instalment of Rs400,000 must be deposited within 10 days of balloting. 

The remaining amount, however, as part of the third and last instalment, must be deposited by February 10.

The minister noted that there would be a deduction of Rs50,000 on a refund of the first instalment and a deduction of Rs200,000 if the third instalment is not deposited after the balloting, but there would be no deduction for refunds if an application is withdrawn before the last date of submission. 

No refund policy will apply after February 10. 

In case of the applicant’s death, the deductions will not be applied.

The process of receiving applications for the upcoming Hajj will begin from November 18 to December 3, while balloting will be held on December 6.