Hajj is the largest global conference as well as an important religious event for Muslims. Every year, a considerable number of Bangladeshi Muslims join the Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia. Due to the Corona outbreak, since 2020, this international religious conference has been restricted to Saudi pilgrims only. This year, preparations for the Hajj can be made by following the policy formulated by the Saudi Hajj Authority with due diligence. Let's get to know how can Bangladeshi citizens register for Hajj online.

Hajj registration procedure

In Bangladesh, every year the Hajj registration is implemented under the authorization of Government and non-Government institutions. The most important thing in both media is pre-registration.

The Hajj and Umrah authority in Saudi Arabia sets a quota for Hajj in all countries of the world each year. These quotas are allocated on the basis of capacity for the provision of emergency services in Mecca-Medina.

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The number of applications often exceeds the quota. This is why the Ministry of Hajj in Bangladesh has introduced the pre-registration system in line with the Saudi e-Hajj system. Pre-registered people are sent to Hajj every year according to the quota. In this case, the waiting people have to go for Hajj next year.

Online Hajj pre-registration procedure in Bangladesh

Candidates will be able to pre-register online through the website https://prp.pilgrimdb.org/pilgrim-reg-request/create. The pre-registration system of the Hajj pilgrims is under the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The steps required for this are mentioned below:

→ Applications can be made to the following institutions for pre-registration of Hajj pilgrimage under government supervision.

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1. Union Digital Service Center (UDC)

2. Office of the Deputy Commissioner

3. Office of the Islamic Foundation

4. Director, Hajj Office, Ashkona, Dhaka

For the pre-registration with non-government media, the candidates have to go to the legitimate Hajj agencies approved by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Visit the following website to check out the list of Bangladesh Government approved Hajj Agencies: https://www.hajj.gov.bd/bn/agency-list-by-category-and-year/?type=list-of-hajj-agencies-2020

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→ First, the hajj aspirants need to log in accounts in their chosen agency through respective Gmail IDs.

→ Next, the applicant has to click on the button “New Application” and provide the required information. The data must be identical to their national identity card. In the case of candidates under 18 years of age, the information should be provided as per their BRC (birth registration certificate).

→ Now the applicant needs to click on the 'Payment Application' button to provide the bank information. Here goes the list of approved banks by the Government of Bangladesh.

http://www.hajj.gov.bd/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Bank-List-2020_080120.pdf

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→ Then the hajj aspirant has to go to the 'Apply for Voucher' option.

→ Once the voucher is created, an email will be sent to the candidate's Gmail and an SMS to the provided mobile number. The voucher can be downloaded from Gmail or by logging into the pre-registration system and clicking on the 'Download Payment Voucher' button from the payment application list.

→The candidate can print the voucher and submit the pre-registration fee along with it to the concerned bank. After depositing the money, the pre-registration certificate along with a serial number will be issued by the bank. If the pre-registration number of the candidate is selected for Hajj according to the National Hajj Policy this year, the confirmation message will be sent to the candidate's mobile and Gmail address.

→ If he/she is selected for Hajj, the total amount of the Hajj package has to be paid within the time fixed by the government.

→ An irrevocable Pilgrim ID (PID) will be created for the Hajj pilgrim when the Hajj Office or the concerned Hajj Agency confirms the payment. It will be notified via SMS to the mobile number of the Hajj applicant and thus, Hajj registration will finally be completed.

Contact address for more information about pre-registration: Hajj Digital Service Center, Skype- hajjcallcenter, e-mail- [email protected].

Read: Bangladesh makes Covid vaccine mandatory for Hajj pilgrims

Necessary documents

1. Candidate's National Identity Card (in case of persons below 18 years of age, pre-registration can be done with their BRC).

2. In the case of women, the national identity card of Mahram (a family member with whom marriage is haram) has to be added.

3. Lastly, in order to be allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj, pilgrims need to get a Corona Vaccine Certificate.

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Costs required for Hajj

As per the policy for the costs of Hajj in 2020, three packages were officially compiled.

Package 1: 4 lakh 25 thousand Taka

Package 2: 3 lakh 60 thousand Taka

Package 3: 3 lakh 15 thousand Taka

Under private supervision, there are two packages.

General: 3 lakh 61 thousand 8 hundred Taka

Economy: 3 lakh 17 thousand Taka

At the time of pre-registration under government supervision, the hajj aspirant has to deposit 30 thousand Taka. Here, the pre-registration fee is Tk.2000 and the remaining Tk.2800 is included in the Hajj package.

For private media, the pre-registration fee is Tk.30,752. Tk.4387 is deducted from this fee for various Hajj-related expenses and the remaining Tk.26,365 is adjusted with the Hajj package as per the agreement of the Hajj pilgrims with the Hajj Agency.

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Summing up

It is a lifelong dream of numerous Bangladeshi Muslims to perform Hajj. By virtue of technology, the registration process of Hajj has become hassle-free. The process is even easy for the first timers. So far we have discussed the online Hajj registration from Bangladesh in 2022. We hope our discussion would help the hajj aspirants to perform the registration process properly.