Kurdistan Region extends Hajj registration deadline to December 8

ERBIL – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs has extended the deadline for completing Hajj registration procedures to Monday, Dec. 8, according to an official statement.

The ministry said the decision was made in the public interest to give more time to applicants who withdrew earlier or missed previous deadlines.

Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is obligatory once in a lifetime for Muslims who are physically and financially able to make the journey.

This is the second time authorities have extended the registration period for the upcoming Hajj season.

The Kurdistan Region’s Hajj and Umrah Directorate previously published the list of names selected in the draw for the 2026 Hajj. The list includes 3,901 confirmed pilgrims and 1,950 alternates, for a total of 5,851 people. Of these, 113 seats were allocated to families of martyrs, with another 113 alternates named.

Nearly 90,000 people applied electronically this year, with just over 5,000 granted the chance to perform the pilgrimage.

The directorate has set the cost of next year’s Hajj at 7.1 million Iraqi dinars (about $5,071).

Saudi Arabia sets annual quotas based on each country’s Muslim population, typically allocating about 1,000 pilgrims per 1 million Muslims. Iraq’s quota in recent years has ranged between 34,000 and 40,000 pilgrims, divided among governorates, including the Kurdistan Region.