Saudi Arabia has warned overseas Muslims, who arrived in the kingdom on a Hajj visa to perform last month’s annual pilgrimage, against overstaying.

The Saudi Ministry of Hajj said that staying on in the kingdom after the expiry of the pilgrimage visa is a violation of law that makes the violator liable to a penalty.

The ministry urged holders of the Hajj visas to leave the kingdom before their visas’ expiry dates.

The Hajj visa is only valid for undertaking the pilgrimage rites and does not qualify its holder to work or keep staying in the kingdom, the ministry explained.

Around 1.8 million pilgrims, including 1.6 million from abroad, performed the recent Hajj in and around the Saudi city of Mecca.

Earlier this week, the last group of pilgrims left aboard a Saudia flight from the Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz airport in Medina for Indonesia.

Some 320 pilgrims boarded the flight that marked the end of the airline’s Hajj operations, according to the Saudi news agency SPA.

The national Saudi carrier had given a farewell ceremony for the pilgrims before their departure.

The recent Hajj season coincided with scorching heat. Saudi Arabia said over 1,300 pilgrims, mostly undocumented, died after trekking for long distances under the sun.

Saudi authorities have repeatedly said a Hajj visa is mandatory to perform the pilgrimage and cracked down on fake tours.

Hajj is one of Islam’s five obligatory duties. Muslims, who can physically and financially afford Hajj, have to perform it at least once in a lifetime.

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