Registration for Haj pilgrimage to reopen on Feb 21; 900 spots allocated for Singaporeans
Only 407 spaces were allocated for Singaporean pilgrims in 2022 during the limited resumption of Haj.
Registration for the Haj 2023 pilgrimage will reopen for Singaporean Muslims on Feb 21, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) announced on Monday (Jan 9).
The Ministry of Haj and Umrah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has allocated 900 places for Singaporean pilgrims for Haj 1444H/2023 season, MUIS said.
MUIS will allocate these 900 places for the Haj 2023 pilgrimage to potential pilgrims who have already registered for Haj in the Advance Haj Registration System (AHRS) and are able to meet the pilgrimage conditions and requirements.
This comes after the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, Mr Masagos Zulkifli, signed the Haj agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Haj and Umrah.
Mr Masagos was in Saudi Arabia from Jan 9 to 12, and attended the “The Conference and Exhibition for Haj and Umrah Services” in Jeddah.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia allocates 900 spaces for Singaporean pilgrims every year, MUIS reported. No spaces were allocated in 2020 and 2021, while 407 spaces were allocated in 2022 as Saudi Arabia began limited resumption of the Haj pilgrimage.
With the quota restored, MUIS can now “clear its current backlog” in the AHRS and allow new applications. The Council also reported that 35,000 pilgrims had registered as of Jan 1, 2020 but suspended new applications due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
MUIS will issue Letters of Intent to eligible pilgrims in the system. Potential pilgrims will have to confirm that they are interested to be considered for Haj 2023 if offered a place.
The Council also “strongly encouraged” potential pilgrims to reply within the stipulated timeline. Places will be allocated based on registrants’ position in the queue in the AHRS.
Singaporean Muslims can register for the pilgrimage through the new portal MyHajS which can be accessed with SingPass, said MUIS.
Registered pilgrims can track their application from their personalised dashboard which indicates their registration number, registration date and time, current status of registration and number of applicants in front of them in the waiting list.
Each registration will include an application fee where MUIS will also provide a subsidy of $90 to ensure “fees remain affordable”, citing “current economic conditions as Singapore moves out from the pandemic”.
New registrants need only pay a $240 application fee, equivalent to pre-pandemic registration fee. The application fee will gradually increase to $285 from Jan 1, 2024 till Dec 31, 2025; and $330 from Jan 1, 2026 onwards. The fees are not inclusive of the prevailing GST.
This is to reflect the increasing costs of administering the Haj registrations, MUIS explained.
Prospective pilgrims may also consider planning for their pilgrimage using the Nusuk app, launched by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Haj and Umrah in Sep 2022.
Current registered applicants are encouraged to log in to the MyHajSG portal to update their contact details, as well as those of their next of kins, so that they can remain contactable, MUIS added.
Successful pilgrims who are offered a Haj place will receive notification alerts via SMS and email.
Registration for the Haj pilgrimage will resume on Feb 21 at 12pm through the MyHajSG portal.
