Saudi reverses Haj age cap, restores entry for children 12 and above

• Saudi Arabia withdraws under-15 restriction hours after issuing directive

• Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry confirms rollback in Haj age policy

• Assures all affected pilgrims of full refund, reprocessing of rejected visas for eligible child pilgrims

• Pakistan Airports Authority updates boarding rules in line with revised Saudi decision

 ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Religious Affairs said on Saturday that Saudi Arabia had reversed its decision to raise the minimum age for Haj pilgrims to 15 years, restoring the earlier policy that allows children aged 12 and above to perform Haj.

The revised decision will take effect from 12am on May 3, 2026, following a day of confusion over age restrictions for intending pilgrims.

Earlier, the ministry had informed the public that Saudi authorities had set 15 years as the minimum age for Haj pilgrims and assured that all affected pilgrims would receive a full refund of the deposited amount.

Following those directives, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) had announced that no pilgrim under the age of 15 would be allowed to board Haj flights and that visas issued for such pilgrims would be treated as cancelled under the policy.

However, hours later, the Ministry of Religious Affairs issued a fresh communication to officials, stating that the Saudi government had reversed its decision regarding the under-15 age restriction for Haj and that its earlier instructions should be considered withdrawn.

Under the restored policy, children aged 12 and above will once again be eligible to perform Haj, the ministry said, adding that visas rejected under the temporary 15-year age restriction would now be reprocessed.

The PAA later issued a separate statement confirming the revised directive, reiterating that children aged 12 and above had been allowed to perform Haj again and that previously rejected visas would be processed afresh.

The inaugural Haj flight for 2026 under the Route to Makkah initiative departed on April 19.

This year, the Route to Makkah project has been expanded to Lahore, in addition to Karachi and Islamabad, and is expected to facilitate more than 95,000 pilgrims, according to Radio Pakistan.