Saudi Arabia has issued more than 6,000 Umrah visas in three days, according to the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

The ministry announced yesterday that the number of Umrah visa requests has increased dramatically since the start of the 1444 (Hijri) Umrah season.

Since the registration opened two weeks ago on July 14, the ministry has issued more than 20,000 visas.

As the new Umrah season began on Saturday, July 30, the first batch of pilgrims from abroad made their way to Mecca for the Umrah pilgrimage.

An integrated system of services was provided by the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques to pilgrims from abroad. To perform their rituals in ease and comfort, it has prepared the entire Grand Mosque in Makkah and its courtyards.

More than 70 million permits were issued to perform Umrah at Mecca's Grand Mosque and pray at Medina's Rawdah Sharif during the last season of 1443.

After the positive changes in health indicators and the removal and easing of many health restrictions that existed during the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Hisham Saeed, told Al Ekhbarya that the Umrah season during the current year 1444 would witness a return to normal in pilgrim numbers.