Iraqi Hajj pilgrims arrive at an Iraqi airport aboard an Iraqi Airways flight after completing the pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, as the national carrier concludes its return-flight operation ahead of schedule.
Hajj commission scraps 50,000-dinar lottery fee, orders refunds
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s High Commission for Hajj and Umrah on Wednesday canceled the 50,000-dinar administrative and technical fee, about $33, for its electronic Hajj lottery and ordered automatic refunds for everyone who had already paid.
Commission Chairman Sami al-Masoudi issued the directive in response to public requests, the commission said, with collection to stop within hours in coordination with the relevant technical authorities. Applicants who paid during the registration period will be refunded electronically and will not need to visit commission offices.
The commission said the move reflected its policy of responding to citizens’ demands and reviewing procedures in the public interest.
The decision reverses a policy announced Monday, when the commission said the fee would be returned only to unsuccessful applicants after the results. Under that arrangement, payments by winners would have counted toward completing their Hajj procedures.
The commission opened electronic registration Monday for the supplementary 2027 allocation and the 2028, 2029 and 2030 Hajj seasons. Applicants must be at least 45 and must not have previously performed Hajj or won a place in an earlier lottery.
Successful applicants cannot transfer their places. The commission warned against fraudulent social media pages claiming places can be transferred or sold, and said companies involved would face legal action. Winning names will be published on its website, and those selected must visit its offices within 20 days of the results or be removed from the list.
Iraq uses a lottery because applicants outnumber the annual quota allocated by Saudi Arabia. The quota has ranged from roughly 34,000 to 40,000 pilgrims in recent years and is distributed among governorates, including the Kurdistan Region, using Planning Ministry population data. The commission has said official places are distributed only through the approved lottery and has warned against unauthorized pilgrimage arrangements using visitor visas outside the formal quota system.