Umrah season 2026 2027 dates: the ones that actually govern your trip are set by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, not by your travel agent's rough estimate. The official 1448H Umrah season opens for arrivals on 31 May 2026 and closes for departures on 7 April 2027. In between sit three deadlines that matter more than the opening date for most travellers: the last day a visa can be issued, the last day to enter the Kingdom, and the last day to leave it. This guide lays out the full calendar as announced, explains what each date actually restricts, and adds the piece a government release never covers: how to get to Jeddah or Madinah, the two entry airports, from India and the Gulf.
The official 1448H Umrah calendar
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah's calendar for the 1448H season (spa.gov.sa/en/N2587540, captured 2026-09-23) sets five dates. Two secondary reports, from the Council of British Hajjis and Wego's travel blog, quote the identical five dates with their Hijri equivalents, both also captured 2026-09-23.
| Milestone | Gregorian date | Hijri date |
|---|---|---|
| International pilgrims may begin arriving; Umrah visa issuance opens | 31 May 2026 | 14 Dhul Hijjah 1447H |
| Entry into Makkah and Umrah permit issuance through the Nusuk app opens | 1 June 2026 | 15 Dhul Hijjah 1447H |
| Final date for issuing Umrah visas | 9 March 2027 | 1 Shawwal 1448H |
| Final date for Umrah pilgrims to enter the Kingdom | 23 March 2027 | 15 Shawwal 1448H |
| Final date for Umrah pilgrims to depart the Kingdom | 7 April 2027 | 30 Shawwal 1448H |
That gives the 1448H season roughly ten months of Umrah access, from late May 2026 through early April 2027, one of the longer windows in recent years, and worth building a trip plan around rather than assuming it works the same way every season.
What each deadline actually means
The five dates above are easy to conflate, and mixing them up is the single most common way an Umrah trip goes wrong at the airport. They break into two pairs plus one closing line.
Visa issuance vs. Kingdom entry. The visa-issuance dates (31 May 2026 opening, 9 March 2027 closing) govern when the Saudi authorities will actually process and stamp a new Umrah visa. The Kingdom-entry deadline (23 March 2027) is a separate, later date: it's the last day a pilgrim already holding a valid visa can physically enter Saudi Arabia. A visa issued on, say, 8 March 2027, one day before the visa deadline, still allows entry up to 23 March. The two dates are not the same cutoff.
Makkah entry and the Nusuk permit. Entering Saudi Arabia is not the same as being permitted into Masjid al-Haram. From 1 June 2026, every pilgrim needs a separate Umrah permit issued through the Nusuk app before entering Makkah itself, on top of the visa that got them into the country. Skipping this step is the most common reason a pilgrim reaches Jeddah or Madinah but can't complete the rites on schedule.
The departure deadline is the true outer boundary. 7 April 2027 is the date every Umrah visa holder, regardless of when they arrived, must have left the Kingdom. Both CBHUK and Wego flag the same caution worth repeating here: the season calendar sets the season's outer limits, but an individual visa's own printed validity period can be shorter. If your visa says you must leave earlier than 7 April, the visa wins: always follow whichever deadline, the season's or your own visa's, comes first.
Every Umrah visa also needs to be linked to a verified Nusuk hotel booking in Makkah, Madinah, or both, before the trip is booked at all, which is worth confirming with your visa provider well before the visa-issuance window closes.
Getting to Jeddah or Madinah from India and the Gulf
Every Umrah trip lands at one of two airports: King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) in Jeddah, or Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport (MED) in Madinah. Which one you fly into usually comes down to whether you're starting your rites in Makkah (fly JED) or Madinah (fly MED); your travel agent or airline booking will confirm which one your itinerary uses.
Our Jeddah airport page and Madinah airport page carry each airport's identity, location and elevation, useful for confirming you have the right destination once your booking has told you which one it is. From India, our directory also carries the Mumbai to Jeddah and Delhi to Jeddah route pages; from the Gulf, several hub-to-Jeddah routes sit in the same directory. None of these pages is a live schedule or a list of today's operating carriers. For that, go to your airline or travel agent, the same way you would for the visa and permit steps above.
Planning around the calendar
A ten-month season sounds like plenty of room, but the two ends of the calendar get crowded for predictable reasons. Visa processing and Nusuk-linked hotel bookings both take time, and demand tends to bunch up around specific windows in the Islamic calendar even outside the separate Hajj season. A few practical habits keep a trip on schedule regardless of when in the 1448H window you travel:
- Confirm your Nusuk hotel link and Umrah permit before you finalise flights. The permit is the step travellers forget, not the visa.
- Don't wait until close to either closing date. Visa issuance closing 9 March 2027 and Kingdom entry closing 23 March 2027 are the season's hard walls; agents and consulates get busier as either date approaches, the same way any deadline-bound process does.
- Check your own visa's printed validity, not just the season calendar. As above, the shorter of the two is the one that applies to you.
- Confirm your entry airport (JED or MED) matches your itinerary's first stop, especially if your trip includes both Makkah and Madinah in one visit.
How TrackMyWings helps
Our TrackMyWings™ Jeddah airport page, Madinah airport page, and the linked route pages for Mumbai and Delhi to Jeddah, give you each airport and route's identity in one place, so once your booking has told you which airport your Umrah trip uses, you can confirm you have the right one before you plan the rest of the journey around it.
TrackMyWings shipped a private beta on 2026-08-24, Android only, on the Play internal testing track. Public launch has no fixed date. Planned features, not yet shipped, include a live map, flight passport, and a shared view for tracking a family member's flight together, useful for the version of this trip where one traveller is in the air to Jeddah and another is waiting for news that they landed.
FAQ
Can I still go for Umrah after 23 March 2027? No. 23 March 2027 is the Ministry's final date for Umrah pilgrims to enter the Kingdom for the 1448H season. Plan your entry on or before that date.
Is the visa issuance deadline the same as the entry deadline? No. Umrah visas stop being issued on 9 March 2027, but a visa issued before that date still allows entry up to the later Kingdom-entry deadline of 23 March 2027. Confirm both dates against your own visa's printed validity, and follow whichever is earlier.
Do I need a separate permit to enter Makkah itself? Yes. From 1 June 2026, entry into Makkah and Masjid al-Haram requires an Umrah permit issued through the Nusuk app, in addition to the Umrah visa that gets you into Saudi Arabia.
What's the very last day to leave the Kingdom on an Umrah visa this season? 7 April 2027, per the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah's calendar. Individual visas can carry a shorter validity than this season-wide date, so check your own visa first.
Sources
- Saudi Press Agency, "Hajj Ministry Announces Umrah Season Calendar for 1448 AH," https://www.spa.gov.sa/en/N2587540 (captured 2026-09-23). Primary announcement, attributed to the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
- Council of British Hajjis (CBHUK), "Saudi Arabia Announces Umrah 1448H Season Calendar and Key Entry Deadlines for Makkah," https://cbhuk.org/news/general-news/saudi-arabia-announces-umrah-1448h-season-calendar-and-key-entry-deadlines-for-makkah/ (captured 2026-09-23). Corroborates all five dates with Hijri equivalents.
- Wego Travel Blog, "Umrah Dates 2026: Saudi Arabia's Full 1448H Season Calendar," https://blog.wego.com/umrah-dates/ (captured 2026-09-23; article published 18 May 2026, last updated 9 September 2026). Corroborates all five dates and the visa-validity caution.
Airport codes, names, coordinates and elevation for JED and MED, and the route directory pages linked above, come from our own airport and route directory.
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