Biometric Hajj visa application begins from Apr 16

Staff Reporter :
Along with the Hajj registration process for the Bangladeshi pilgrims intending to perform Hajj this year, the government has already announced the deadline for biometric visa application.
According to the announcement of the Religious Affairs Ministry given on Wednesday, the biometric visa application of the Bangladeshi pilgrims will start from April 16, Sunday and will be completed within April 30 as the matter of visa application is a most important issue for smooth Hajj management. Meanwhile, the ministry has asked the Hajj agencies which have less than 97 pilgrims to select a lead agency within Thursday, April 13 and inform the ministry about its progress within the period.
In a notice issued on Wednesday, ministry’s Deputy Secretary (Hajj-1) Abul Kashem Muhammad Shahin said that the Hajj agencies which have less than 97 pilgrims must have completed selection of their lead agencies within Thursday. After the selection, the agencies will finalise their Hajj guide and Muallems in accordance with the law and send it to the ministry, so that it can be sent to the Saudi authorities soon.
After sending the final lists of Hajj agencies, finalisation of pilgrim’s quota for the agencies, lists of Hajj guide and Muallems to the Saudi authorities, the system of Hajj management would be opened for issuing pilgrims ID (PID), the notice said.
Another notice issued on the same day and signed by the DS said that the biometric visa application for both private and public management pilgrims would be started simultaneously across the country from April 16 and continue till April 30 this year.
The public management pilgrims will have to submit their applications to Islamic Foundation offices in all districts including its head office in Agargaon and Baitul Mokarram mosque complex, office of Waqf Administrator in Dhaka and Hajj Office in Ashkona. After submission of their passports and fees, the pilgrims will have to collect their passports, the notice said.
Meanwhile, the private Hajj pilgrims will have to submit their application to the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) office in Nayapaltan in Dhaka through their agencies. After submission of the visa applications, they will submit their passports to their agencies.
According to the ministry and Hajj Office data, some 119,695 pilgrims against the quota of 127,198 allocated for Bangladesh have completed their Hajj registration till Wednesday. Some 7,503 quota of the pilgrims is still remained vacant.