Hajj leave in UAE private sector: Everything you need to know Key rules, eligibility and application steps for Hajj leave in UAE private firms
Dubai: Planning to perform Hajj this year involves more than travel bookings and preparations for the pilgrimage itself. If you are working in the UAE’s private sector, one of the key steps is ensuring your leave is arranged properly and well in advance.
Here is a breakdown to how Hajj leave works, along with what you need to do before applying.
What is Hajj leave?
Under the UAE’s Labour Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021), employees may be granted special leave specifically to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. This is a distinct category of leave and comes with specific conditions.
In most cases:
Hajj leave is unpaid
It can be granted for up to 30 days
It is allowed only once during your employment with the same employer
This means that if you have already taken Hajj leave with your current employer, you are not entitled to it again unless you change jobs.
Rules for free zones in UAE If you work in a financial free zone, slightly different rules apply, although the overall approach remains similar.
Under the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Employment Law:
Muslim employees must have completed at least one year of continuous service
They are entitled to up to 21 days of unpaid leave
This leave can only be taken once per employer
Meanwhile, under the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) employment regulations:
Employees must also have completed at least one year of service
They can take up to 30 calendar days of unpaid leave
The leave is granted once during employment with the same employer
Saudi Arabia has outlined a list of medical conditions that may disqualify individuals from obtaining a Hajj permit, as part of efforts to safeguard pilgrims’ health during the annual pilgrimage.
The Ministry of Health and the Public Health Authority said the restrictions apply to people suffering from conditions that could impair their ability to perform rituals, including advanced kidney failure requiring dialysis, severe heart failure, liver cirrhosis, serious mental illnesses, dementia, advanced age-related frailty, and pregnancy in the final trimester.
Authorities said pilgrims must meet health requirements that allow them to complete the rituals safely and without complications that could endanger their wellbeing.
The ministry also said all pilgrims must receive a meningococcal meningitis vaccine, with a single dose of the quadrivalent vaccine administered at least 10 days before the start of Hajj.
Additional recommended vaccinations include COVID-19 and seasonal influenza, particularly for high-risk groups such as the elderly, pregnant women and those with chronic conditions including heart, respiratory and kidney diseases, as well as diabetes.
Officials said updated doses of COVID-19 and flu vaccines are advised, especially if previous vaccinations were administered before the recommended dates.
MAKKAH — The General Authority for Statistics announced on Tuesday that the total number of pilgrims performing Hajj this year reached 1,707,301.
According to the authority, 1,546,655 pilgrims arrived from outside Saudi Arabia representing 165 nationalities through the Kingdom’s various entry points, while 160,646 pilgrims were citizens and residents from within the Kingdom.
The authority said the total number of male pilgrims from inside and outside Saudi Arabia reached 893,396, compared to 813,905 female pilgrims.
Among pilgrims arriving from abroad, 1,485,729 entered through air ports, 54,429 arrived via land crossings and 6,497 came by sea.
The statistics also showed that the Hajj workforce for this year’s season reached 441,049 participants, while the number of volunteers across various sectors totaled 26,701.
The authority said the Hajj statistics were compiled using administrative records provided primarily by the Ministry of Interior to ensure high levels of accuracy and reliability.
The data collection follows the unified statistical model adopted over the past six years for Hajj season reporting.
The General Authority for Statistics is the Kingdom’s official reference body for statistical data and information and has published the full Hajj statistics report on its official website.
Prophet’s Mosque has 180,000 maintenance operations a year
MADINAH: The General Authority for the Care of the Two Holy Mosques continues to carry out carpet maintenance at the Prophet’s Mosque.
The operations are part of an integrated operational system aimed at providing a spiritually conducive environment for worshippers and visitors, while maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness and quality within the prayer areas and courtyards.
Daily care includes washing and preparing around 500 carpets out of a total of 25,000 distributed across the mosque, amounting to more than 180,000 operations annually.
The work is carried out according to precise operational stages that ensure complete cleanliness, high efficiency, and the preservation of carpet quality and sustainability.
The carpets used in the mosque are made in Saudi Arabia. They are distinguished by high-quality specifications in terms of weave density, durability, and cohesion, contributing to the comfort of worshippers and visitors and withstanding intensive use year-round.
The carpets are distributed across prayer areas according to precise organizational plans that take into account the smooth flow of movement within the mosque, its roof, and courtyards, ensuring optimal use of designated prayer spaces and enhancing the comfort of visitors to the mosque.
These efforts are part of the integrated services at the mosque, aimed at enhancing service quality and attending to the finest details, thereby ensuring comfort and tranquility for worshippers and visitors, and keeping it prepared for worship in the best possible condition.
JEDDAH: At the beginning of the new Hijri year, the Holy Kaaba was covered with its new kiswa, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s care for the holiest site in Islam and its expertise in producing Islamic craftsmanship.
The replacement of the kiswa is one of the key rituals at the Grand Mosque and marks the completion of months of work at the King Abdulaziz Complex for the Holy Kaaba Kiswa in Makkah, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
The process involved about 150 Saudi craftsmen working for 11 months to produce 47 pieces of luxurious black silk embroidered with 30 Qur’anic verses in silver thread plated with 24-karat gold. The cover weighs 1,410 kg.
They installed the embroidered curtain with gold-plated threads, the hizam (belt), the samadiah (decorative elements), lantern-shaped pieces and decorations around the mizab (rainwater spout), corners and other parts of the Kaaba, creating a scene marked by reverence and devotion.
The kiswa appears as a single seamless garment but is in fact made through a detailed production process using several types of fabric, each serving a specific purpose in its structure, appearance and durability.
Its main fabric is black silk, which forms the outer covering and gives the kiswa its distinctive appearance. It also includes embossed black silk used for inscriptions and decorative motifs, adding to its design.
Inside, off-white cotton is used as a lining to provide strength and durability, while white cotton supports additional sections to enhance structural stability.
Red silk is used in some decorative elements, and green silk is used behind the curtain of the Kaaba’s door. Embossed green silk is used for the inner covering.
Together, these materials are combined through a precise production process that reflects the craftsmanship behind the kiswa.
RIYADH: Makkah and Madinah’s hospitality sectors demonstrated resilience in early 2026, weathering regional travel disruptions as the Kingdom continues to expand accommodation capacity for religious visitors, according to Knight Frank.
The consultancy’s Saudi Hospitality and Religious Tourism Report found that Makkah remained the Kingdom’s strongest-performing hotel market during the first four months of the year, recording average daily room rates of SR775 ($209) and annual revenue per available room growth of 4.7 percent.
Madinah also maintained strong performance, with occupancy averaging 76 percent and room rates rising 2.7 percent year on year.
The findings come as Saudi Arabia accelerates efforts to position religious tourism as a key pillar of its Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy.
The Kingdom is investing heavily in hotel, transport and real estate infrastructure in Makkah and Madinah to accommodate rising numbers of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, while also opening new opportunities for private and foreign investment in the hospitality sector.
Knight Frank said more than 105,225 hotel rooms are currently under construction or in advanced planning stages across the Kingdom, which would increase total hotel inventory from 176,260 rooms to more than 281,500 by 2030.
“The Holy Cities have long benefited from strong underlying demand, but recent regulatory reforms are creating new opportunities for international investors to participate in their long-term growth story,” Amar Hussain, associate partner for research in the Middle East and North Africa at Knight Frank, told Arab News, adding: “This is likely to become an increasingly important driver of investment activity over the coming decade.”
Religious tourism continues to underpin much of that growth.
The report found that 1.71 million pilgrims performed Hajj in 2026, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier, with pilgrims arriving from 165 countries.
International pilgrims accounted for approximately 1.55 million of the total, with Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nigeria remaining the largest source markets.
The report also showed that more than 218,000 hotel rooms, branded residences and serviced apartments are planned across major developments in Makkah and Madinah, including Rua Al Haram, Rua Al Madinah, and Dar Al Hijrah Pilgrim City, as well as Knowledge Economic City, Masar Makkah and Thakher Makkah.
Saudi Arabia welcomed 37.2 million domestic and international visitors during the first quarter of 2026, while visitor spending reached SR82.7 billion, according to the analysis.
Domestic tourism remained the primary growth driver, with visitor numbers rising 16 percent year on year to 28.9 million and spending increasing 8 percent to SR34.7 billion.
The report said the travel and tourism sector contributed $178 billion to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product in 2025, accounting for about 46 percent of the Middle East’s tourism economy.
Tourism GDP expanded by 7.4 percent during the year, outperforming both the regional average of 5.3 percent and the global average of 4.1 percent.
The Kingdom welcomed approximately 123 million domestic and international tourists in 2025, up 6 percent from 2024, according to a recent Ministry of Tourism report.
Faisal Durrani, partner and head of research for MENA at Knight Frank, said the Kingdom’s hospitality market is entering a new phase of development.
“The market is entering a new phase where product diversification will become increasingly important,” Durrani said.
He noted that more than half of the future hotel pipeline is concentrated in luxury and upper-upscale properties, creating an opportunity to expand midscale and budget accommodation as demand increasingly comes from domestic travelers, regional visitors and religious tourists.
Performance across Saudi Arabia’s hospitality sector was mixed. While the Holy Cities continued to benefit from strong pilgrimage demand, Riyadh’s hotel market experienced softer conditions as new supply entered the market and business travel slowed amid regional geopolitical tensions.
According to Knight Frank, hotel occupancy in the capital fell 17.9 percent year on year to 49.3 percent during the first four months of 2026, while revenue per available room declined 18.3 percent.
Despite those near-term pressures, the consultancy said the long-term outlook for Saudi Arabia’s hospitality sector remains positive, supported by continued government spending, major infrastructure projects, airport expansion programs and the launch of Riyadh Air.
Recent reforms allowing greater foreign participation in property investment are expected to attract additional international capital into Makkah and Madinah, supporting the expansion of hospitality capacity as the Kingdom works toward its goal of welcoming 30 million Hajj and Umrah pilgrims annually by 2030
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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