:: Domestic Haj companies will have to deposit to the Ministry of Haj and Umrah SR400 per pilgrim before their electronic registration for the upcoming Haj.

This was announced by the Ministry of Haj and Umrah.

The fee will be in the form of a bank guarantee of 30 percent of the value of services provided by Haj companies.

The fees should be paid before registering domestic pilgrims through the online portal for the upcoming pilgrimage season.

The fees should be transferred to the ministry’s account through local banks that are registered with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority.

The ministry warned Haj companies against hiking their prices in order to make pilgrims pay for the new fee.

It also ordered them to allocate all administration, reception and data processing jobs to Saudis.

The electronic registration process is scheduled to begin on Dhul Qida 1 (July 24).

The reason for depositing SR400 per pilgrim is to ensure that those pilgrims who cancel their plan to perform Haj and so revoke their Haj permits get their refund from the company.

The ministry is expected to collect SR86 million from bank guarantees provided by Haj companies.