Following the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities' announcement yesterday of the tourist Hajj lottery results for the 1448 AH/2027 season, and with the names of the winning citizens now known, a number of procedures must be completed both by pilgrims and by the tour companies running Hajj programs at all levels. There are also rules on exclusion, replacement and withdrawal from the Hajj opportunity, which Travel Yalla News explains below, in line with the Hajj regulations approved by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy.
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities stressed the following:
Winning citizens must contact tour companies to complete the procedures and pay for their Hajj program within a maximum of 15 days from the date the lottery results were announced.
Pilgrims must stick to the program level and means of travel on which the lottery was conducted, and keep their contracts and payment receipts showing the program level and agreed services, to protect their rights.
Tour companies must direct their pilgrims, as soon as they win a Hajj place, as well as any supervisors the companies wish to accredit for their Hajj programs, to obtain a medical examination statement (the "health fitness certificate") from hospitals accredited by the Ministry of Health and Population, which will be announced later. Pilgrims and supervisors must make sure the certificate is registered on the Ministry of Health and Population's electronic system at the same hospital. Companies bear full and direct responsibility for meeting all health requirements and for ensuring that pilgrims are free of illnesses that conflict with the minimum health fitness requirements.
The regulations had set the prices of tourist Hajj programs at all levels (five-star, economy and overland) for the 1448 AH/2027 Hajj season.
Tour companies that entered applicants' data for the tourist Hajj can retrieve the electronic lottery results through the Unified Egyptian Hajj Portal using their login credentials.
Citizens can check the electronic lottery results with their national ID number on the Unified Egyptian Hajj Portal website:
As well as the Egyptian Tour Companies Services Portal:
Replacement and withdrawal after the tourist Hajj lottery results are governed by the following:
Tour companies running Hajj trips must upload the contract between the company and each individual pilgrim to the ministry's website, using the unified contract template prepared by the Chamber of Tourism Companies and already available on the site. The contract must include all details of the Hajj program (accommodation, service level, room type, meals, transfers, means of travel, airline, departure and return ports and dates, program duration and tawafa level). It must also include the pilgrim's declaration that they have never performed Hajj before, and the company must verify that the pilgrim personally signed both the contract and the declaration. If proven otherwise, this is considered a withdrawal by the pilgrim, with all the consequences that entails. The contract also sets out the pilgrim's other financial obligations.
Citizens who win the Hajj lottery may not transfer their Hajj place to anyone else.
A withdrawal is valid and accepted only once it has been confirmed that it can be processed on the electronic track.
Winning citizens must pay the tour company for the Hajj program they won within a maximum of 15 days from the date the lottery was announced. Otherwise, after being officially notified, they will be considered to have withdrawn from their Hajj place, and the withdrawal rules will apply.
Replacement is permitted after the lottery results are announced in the event of death, lack of health fitness as stated in a health statement issued through the Unified Egyptian Hajj Portal, or an enforceable court ruling restricting liberty, along with any resulting religious or legal impediments for companions on the same application, provided these cases occur after the lottery results were announced.
If a pilgrim withdraws after winning the lottery, they recover only 50% of the booking deposit, within a maximum of 15 days from the lottery date. If the pilgrim withdraws after this deadline but before accommodation is booked, they lose the full deposit. If they withdraw after the company has booked accommodation, the company is entitled to charge the full program price, provided this is stated explicitly in the contract between the company and the pilgrim. The Saudi electronic track is the reference for verifying whether the company has booked accommodation.
The travel movements certificate issued by the General Administration of Passports and Immigration is the document used to determine whether a citizen has previously performed Hajj. A citizen's presence in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj period does not count as a previous Hajj unless the movements certificate states so explicitly. A previous Hajj is treated as a withdrawal by the citizen, and the same conditions that apply to withdrawals apply.
