If you are a Pakistani living in Britain, America or Canada, the passport you travel on decides your Hajj route. On a Pakistani passport you can use Pakistan’s government or private Hajj scheme, register online from abroad, and fly with a group from Pakistan. On a British, US or Canadian passport you book through Saudi Arabia’s Nusuk Hajj platform like any other citizen of your country. Dual nationals can choose, and the choice changes the price, the length of the trip and where you fly from.
Below is what is confirmed for 2027 as of 7 October 2026, what is not, and where the old “Sponsorship Scheme” stands.
Route 1: Pakistan's Hajj scheme on a Pakistani passport
- Registration for Hajj 2027 opened on 22 June 2026, is free, and is open to Pakistanis living abroad. Register online at hajj.mora.gov.pk with your CNIC or NICOP. Registration is the precondition for both schemes (how registration works).
- Government scheme 2027: Rs1,200,000 for the regular 38–42 day package or Rs1,300,000 for the 20–25 day short package, as announced in August 2026. Applications opened on 18 August 2026 and are first-come, first-served until the 107,526 government seats are filled (30,000 of them on the short package). Half was paid with the application and the second instalment between 5 and 21 October 2026 (the Ministry extended the 20 October deadline by one day) through the Pak Hajj app or the government’s digital Hajj portal, after uploading a medical fitness certificate (mandatory for this round); applications not paid by the deadline were cancelled, with the first instalment refunded.
- Private scheme: 71,684 seats with Ministry-licensed Hajj Group Organisers, booked and paid only through the Pak Hajj app / digital system. Each operator sets its own price.
- Passport: not needed to register, but it must be valid until at least 16 November 2027 when you book (the date given in banks’ Hajj 2027 notices, for example Allied Bank’s).
- Where you fly from: the government package includes the return Hajj flight from Pakistan, so overseas applicants fly home first. Some private operators advertise departures from abroad; ask the operator directly.
For most working Pakistanis in the UK or North America the short 20–25 day package is the realistic one: the regular package keeps you away for up to six weeks.
What happened to the Sponsorship Scheme?
In recent years Pakistan ran a Sponsorship Scheme of Hajj for Overseas Pakistanis: an overseas Pakistani could sponsor himself, herself or a relative, pay the Hajj dues in US dollars through the SWIFT banking system, and skip the ballot. For Hajj 2023, 43,308 government seats were reserved for it (Pakistan High Commission London, March 2023). For Hajj 2025 the policy set aside 5,000 government-scheme and 30,000 private-scheme sponsorship seats, first-come, first-served (Press Information Department, November 2024).
For 2027 we could not find one. The Ministry’s Hajj Policy & Plan 2027–2030 (published July 2026, read in full) has no sponsorship section; it says only that all Hajj dues go into designated bank accounts through formal banking channels, with no cash. As of 7 October 2026 no separate 2027 sponsorship notification has been published on the Ministry or High Commission sites we checked. Anyone selling you a “2027 sponsorship seat” today is selling something the Ministry has not announced.
Pakistan’s 2026 policy had no sponsorship scheme either; it let overseas pilgrims pay their dues into the designated bank accounts from abroad, and for 2027 the Ministry added online payment so overseas Pakistanis can register and pay from abroad (Arab News, 30 June 2026).
What to do instead: register on hajj.mora.gov.pk (it is free), and under the new policy a 10% deposit moves a registered applicant onto a waiting list with first right for the year of their choice.
Route 2: Nusuk Hajj on a UK, US or Canadian passport
Countries without an official Saudi Hajj mission, including the UK, the USA and Canada, use Saudi Arabia’s Nusuk Hajj platform (the Direct Hajj programme, running since 2022). You register, choose a package from a Saudi-licensed provider and pay on hajj.nusuk.sa; no travel agent in the UK, USA, Canada or Pakistan can sell you a Hajj package outside it. For Hajj 2026, booking opened on 1 February 2026 at 3 pm Makkah time (12 noon in the UK, 7 am on the US East Coast).
Nusuk packages are priced by the provider, not by your government, and have historically cost several times more than Pakistan’s scheme, British Pakistanis told Middle East Eye in 2023, after the UK allocation was cut from about 25,000 to 3,600 places. That gap, and the scramble on Nusuk’s opening day, is why many dual nationals look at the Pakistani route first.
For 2027: the Council of British Hajjis expects UK registration to open between late October and early November 2026, and Saudi Arabia has made all-inclusive packages mandatory for 1448.
Last cycle, for comparison: Nusuk accounts opened on 7 October 2025 and package booking on 1 February 2026.
If you live in the UK
When registration opens
- Registration: expected late October to early November 2026 (CBHUK, 30 August 2026). Not yet announced by Saudi Arabia.
- Last cycle for comparison: account registration opened on 7 October 2025 and package booking on 1 February 2026.
- Hajj: expected around 14–19 May 2027, Day of Arafah about 15 May.
New for 1448 (2027): Saudi Arabia announced on 29 September 2026 that Hajj packages must be all-inclusive, under a single contract per agency (Arab News). Reports in September also describe a pre-visa health clearance through the Nusuk system; that had not appeared on an official Saudi page we could open by 7 October 2026.
How many places the UK gets
About 3,600 for Britain in 2023 and 3,500 in 2025, against more than 25,000 before Covid, and the 2025 places were reported fully booked in the first sales phase. No 2027 figure had been published by 7 October 2026. Children under 12 were not accepted in 2025 and 2026.
Avoid Hajj scams
- Hajj packages and visas come only through Nusuk’s authorised providers, not through websites, social-media sellers or unofficial agents (CBHUK warning, February 2026).
- You cannot perform Hajj on a visit or tourist visa.
- Nobody can sell a confirmed 2027 place before Nusuk opens.
If you live in the USA
There is no nonstop between the US and Pakistan, but Saudia flies from New York JFK, Washington Dulles and Los Angeles to Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf carriers connect most US cities. Pakistani-scheme pilgrims fly to Pakistan first and travel with their group.
Flights: USA and Canada to Pakistan.
If you live in the Gulf
Saudi Arabia: domestic Hajj for iqama holders
- Eligibility: a valid national ID or residence permit (iqama); a visit or work visa is not enough. Minimum age 15, no upper limit.
- Priority: people who have not performed Hajj before (a mahram is excepted); after that, booking opens to anyone eligible. The Ministry’s FAQ states no fixed “every five years” rule, although some blogs claim one.
- Health: meningococcal vaccine required; seasonal flu and COVID vaccines recommended.
- Companions must register with the same company and package.
- Packages on Nusuk are all-inclusive, in six categories (Luxury, Premium and Standard, each also as Shifting), with minimums of 6 days for the Mashair, 10 days non-shifting and 14 days shifting; Mina camps at Majar Al-Kabsh or Al-Muaisim.
The 2026 timetable, as a guide: registration opened on 24 February 2026, package booking on 4 March, and the priority phase ran to 17 April; iqamas issued more than a year earlier had priority (Arab News, citing SPA). Help line 1966. Saudi Arabia has not announced the 1448 (2027) dates yet; watch Nusuk early in 2027.
During Hajj season in the Kingdom
In 2026, Umrah permits stopped from 18 April to 31 May, holders of visas other than Hajj visas could not enter or stay in Makkah from 18 April, and residents without a holy-sites work permit or a Makkah-issued ID needed an electronic entry permit through Absher or Muqeem. Expect similar rules before Hajj 1448.
The UAE: use Pakistan’s scheme
Pakistan’s Hajj registration for 2027–2030 is free and continuous on hajj.mora.gov.pk and the Pak Hajj app, which has options for the Pakistan Origin Card and foreign passports, and the Ministry runs an overseas facilitation desk. Government-scheme pilgrims fly from Pakistan, so plan to travel home first.
For the 2027 government scheme, the second-instalment window ran 5–21 October 2026 and has closed; on 22 August only about 18,500 government seats remained. The quota is 179,210: 107,526 government and 71,684 private. The private scheme runs through MoRA-licensed Hajj operators.
Dual nationals: which passport should you use?
| Pakistani passport (Pakistan scheme) | UK / US / Canadian passport (Nusuk) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price 2027 | Rs1.2M regular / Rs1.3M short (government); private set by operator | Set by Saudi providers on Nusuk; historically several times higher |
| How seats go | Registration, then first-come, first-served until the quota fills | Online on opening day, first-come, first-served |
| Where you fly from | Pakistan (government package) | Your country of residence |
| Time away | 20–25 days (short) or 38–42 days | Usually shorter packages |
| Passport rule | Valid Pakistani passport, to 16 Nov 2027 | Your foreign passport |
The Hajj visa is issued on the passport you travel on, so a whole family should normally use the same route. If one parent holds only a Pakistani passport and the children hold British ones, say so when you ask us; the answer is different for each person.
Paying for a parent's Hajj from abroad
- Your parent registers in Pakistan with their own CNIC; the application and payment are in the pilgrim’s name.
- Money goes only through the designated bank or the official digital system. On 12 September 2026 the Ministry warned pilgrims not to pay private operators in cash; private Hajj is paid through the Pak Hajj app.
- Women may perform Hajj without a mahram under the 2027–2030 policy, on an affidavit that parents or husband have given permission, that she travels with a group of reliable women, and that there is no threat to her dignity or safety.
- Every pilgrim pays a non-refundable Rs1,000 into the Hujjaj Muhafiz takaful scheme (Rs2,000,000 on death during Hajj, Rs250,000 on evacuation for illness).
- A new NADRA-integrated vaccination card is being introduced for pilgrims departing Pakistan; from 25 September 2026 it applies to Umrah passengers flying from Karachi, and the scope may widen before Hajj.
- Medical certificate: the policy text asks for a certificate from a registered medical practitioner in Pakistan, while the Pak Hajj app has reportedly added an overseas category for forms verified by a doctor abroad; follow what the app shows for your application.
- No official page we could open says whose card or account must pay; keep every payment inside the official system in the pilgrim’s own application, and keep the receipts.
Paying from the Gulf
Many Gulf families pay for their parents to go from Pakistan. Your parents register on the Pak Hajj app or with a licensed private operator; you can pay from abroad. Send us their city and dates on WhatsApp and we will help you compare licensed operators’ written offers and the flights.
Where SafirAvia fits
On a Pakistani passport we arrange private Hajj 2027 through Ministry-licensed Hajj Group Organisers: the organiser’s licence number is on your contract and payment goes through the official Pak Hajj system, which you can use from abroad. On a British, US or Canadian passport, Hajj is booked on Saudi Arabia’s Nusuk Hajj platform with a Saudi-licensed provider; we do not sell that route. For every overseas family we explain which route fits each passport, walk parents through registration in Pakistan, and ticket the flights outside the Hajj package — your flight from London, Manchester, New York or Toronto to Pakistan timed to your group’s departure, and the way back. If Hajj does not work out this year, an Umrah for your parents from Pakistan can be arranged any month outside the Hajj season.
Dates
Hajj 2027 is expected from about 14 to 19 May 2027 (8–13 Dhul Hijjah 1448), with the Day of Arafah on Saturday 15 May and Eid al-Adha on Sunday 16 May. These are Umm al-Qura calendar estimates; Saudi Arabia confirms the dates after the moon sighting, and they can move by a day.
Facts on this page were checked on 17 October 2026 against: mora.gov.pk · arabnews.pk · abl.com · new.phclondon.org · pid.gov.pk · middleeasteye.net · nation.com.pk · dawn.com