Health requirements for travellers to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

The Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia annually issues specific requirements and recommendations for entry visas for travellers on pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia (for the Hajj and Umra), which this year will occur around September 20-26. The Saudi Arabian authorities require that all pilgrims travelling to Mecca have evidence of recent vaccination with the quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine. The Department of Health (DoH) states that the quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (4vMenCV) should be used in preference to the quadrivalent meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (4vMenPV).

The Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia’s requirements and recommendations for travellers on pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj and Umra) are published annually in the Weekly Epidemiological Record of the World Health Organisation.