Hajj Savings in the UAE (2026): Costs, Halal Saving Routes and Zakat on the Fund

There is no official Hajj price in the UAE. The General Authority of Islamic Affairs, Endowments and Zakat (Awqaf) runs registration for citizens and licenses the campaigns that set package prices; its services guide gives eligibility rules and campaign fees but no pilgrim tariff. Residents who are not citizens book through Saudi Arabia's Nusuk Hajj platform, where packages are priced by duration and hotel grade. The saving task is to build a fund sized from a current quote, in a vehicle that cannot lose capital, over a known number of years. National Bonds Saving Bonds from AED 100, Term Sukuk from AED 10,000 and Islamic savings accounts do that job; financing Hajj is permitted but not required. Zakat is due on the fund each year it exceeds nisab, as the zakat hub explains.

How Hajj registration works for UAE citizens: the Awqaf service, as published

Awqaf's services guide lists a Hajj Package service for citizens. The conditions are five: registration in UAE PASS, UAE citizenship, age over 12, medical fitness, and that the applicant 'must not have performed Hajj'. The steps are to fill out the form, undergo the medical examination, choose a campaign, sign the digital Hajj contract and receive the Hajj permit. Priority for permits follows percentages approved by the relevant committee, and the guide's FAQ says a permit cannot be transferred to another person, that someone who received a permit in a prior year but did not travel is treated under the stated rules, and that a citizen father with a resident mother can apply for the family through the Authority's digital platforms, with a mahram request to the committee. The whole process runs through the Awqaf website and app rather than a counter.

The guide does not state what a citizen pays for the package. The fees it prints under the Hajj and Umrah heading belong to the campaign operators, not the pilgrims: AED 500 application and AED 10,000 service fees for a campaign activity approval, AED 10,000 for renewals, for adding Hajj to an Umrah activity, for partner additions and for licensing an agent during the season, AED 5,000 for branch renewals, and AED 500 items for advertising permits and attestations. The legal base cited is Cabinet Resolution No. 32 of 2018 on Hajj and Umrah regulations, under which non-citizens cannot obtain a campaign licence. What a citizen pays is the campaign's package price, which varies by tier and is quoted at the time of selection; we did not find a published 2026 tariff on awqaf.gov.ae and do not reproduce the figures that circulate in the press.

How residents register: Nusuk Hajj and its package types

Expatriate residents of the UAE do not register with Awqaf. The route is Nusuk Hajj, the platform overseen by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah 'offering pilgrims from serviced countries a variety of Hajj packages, provided by authorized service providers'. The platform's own ten-step guide is: create an account, upload documents, fill the application, await verification, select a preferred category, top up the e-wallet, browse service providers, select a package, and complete booking and payment. The site is explicit that 'registering on the platform does not mean that you will be accepted for Hajj' and that packages and payment open later, so registration is the start of a wait, not a booking.

Nusuk describes three package families. All-inclusive packages cover visa issuance, flights, accommodation in Makkah and Madinah, catering, transport between cities, Mashair services and guidance. Shifting packages place pilgrims near the Mashair sites during Hajj with a second Makkah hotel before or after, with a minimum duration of 14 days; non-shifting packages keep one Makkah accommodation throughout, minimum 10 days; Mashair-only packages run a minimum of 6 days. Hotels range from 5-star to 3-star and residential buildings. Prices are set per package by the provider and are not published as a national tariff, which again means the saving target must come from a current quote in the category you intend to book.

Setting the target: build the number from a quote, then add the costs the package omits

Because no official price exists, the fund target is the package quote you obtain this year, uplifted for the years until you expect to travel, plus the items packages routinely exclude: vaccinations and the medical examination, clothing and ihram, local spending in the Haramain, sacrifice vouchers where not included, gifts, and loss of earnings for unpaid leave. A citizen can ask two or three licensed campaigns for their current tier prices; a resident can note the price range shown on Nusuk for their chosen category once bookings open. Write the number down with the date and the campaign or provider it came from, then revise it each year when the new season's prices appear. Saving for an unquoted figure is how families end up short in the month the permit arrives.

Umrah is the easier case: it can be performed in most months, packages are smaller and shorter, and the same saving vehicles apply over one to two years. Travel cover for either trip, including the one UAE product built for Hajj and Umrah, is reviewed in the travel takaful for Hajj and Umrah article and is a cost to add to the target rather than to skip.

The halal saving routes, matched to the years until travel

National Bonds covers every horizon with published entry points. Saving Bonds come in AED 10 units from AED 100 with no minimum balance fee and entry into the AED 36 million rewards programme, which suits an open-ended fund. myPlan automates a monthly direct debit from AED 100 with no tenure commitment, which suits a family saving over several years for a permit of uncertain date. Term Sukuk takes AED 10,000 for 3, 6 or 9 months or one year, with monthly profit payouts on the one-year option, anticipated returns updated weekly and 'capital protection as per the National Bonds Mudaraba Structure', which suits a lump sum parked for the year before travel. Flexi Term runs from 3 months to 5 years with quarterly or yearly profit distribution and capital protection 'as per Fatwa', which suits a fund with a known travel year. The current anticipated rates are not printed on the product pages and must be checked in the app or on the historical profit rates page before you commit.

Islamic bank savings accounts are the alternative for a fund you want to keep liquid at your salary bank; their declared profit rates and the balance and withdrawal gates that switch profit off are compared in the best Islamic savings rates comparison, and their fixed-term Wakala and Mudaraba deposits in the term deposit rate map. What a Hajj fund should not be is an equity portfolio, unless the travel date is five or more years away and you would accept delaying it after a bad year. The fund has a date and a purpose, and capital protection matters more than return.

• Under one year to travel: Islamic savings account or National Bonds Saving Bonds for liquidity, with the quoted package price already in hand.
• One to two years: National Bonds Term Sukuk from AED 10,000 or an Islamic Wakala deposit for the lump sum, plus myPlan from AED 100 a month for the balance.
• Three to five years: National Bonds Flexi Term with a maturity matched to the expected season, or a laddered set of Term Sukuk.
• Date unknown, as for a citizen awaiting a permit: myPlan or Saving Bonds, revised annually against the latest campaign quote.
• Any horizon: keep the fund in your own name, record the target and its source, and include it in your annual zakat calculation.

Should you finance Hajj? What the banks offer and what the fiqh says

ADIB markets a Travel Finance 'for Hajj, Umrah and holidays': up to AED 250,000 at profit rates from 5.49% a year, tenors to 48 months, a first instalment holiday of up to 210 days, two instalment postponements a year, salary transfer required from an employer on ADIB's approved list, minimum salary AED 8,000, and a quotation from the travel agency addressed to the bank. It is a Shariah-compliant personal finance and the bank's board has approved it; nothing about taking it is riba. The question is whether it is wise or necessary. Hajj is obligatory on the person who is able, and the classical condition of ability includes having the means after providing for dependants; a person without the money is not yet obliged, and the majority view is that borrowing to perform Hajj is not required, though a person who borrows and performs it has discharged the obligation. Taking four years of instalments at a fixed profit to perform an act that was not yet due is a choice, not a duty.

Our view is that a resident with a stable salary who has already saved most of the cost and faces a one-off shortfall can reasonably use an Islamic personal finance to close it, especially where a permit has arrived and the date cannot move. A person starting from zero should save, because the instalments of a finance plus its profit are larger than the contributions of a savings plan plus its profit, and the obligation can wait. The halal personal financing guide explains the contracts these products use.

Zakat on a Hajj fund: the rule most savers get wrong

Money saved for Hajj is still money. Under the majority view, cash and bank balances held for a lunar year above the nisab are zakatable at 2.5% regardless of what they are earmarked for, and intending to spend them on worship does not change their nature. A Hajj fund of AED 40,000 held for a year therefore carries zakat of AED 1,000 on the date your zakat falls due, and the same applies to National Bonds balances, which the zakat on savings article works through product by product. A minority of scholars exempt money set aside for an obligatory act that is imminent; if you follow a scholar who holds that, note it, but the safer and majority position is to pay.

The practical fix is to include the Hajj fund in the annual calculation and pay the zakat from it, which modestly slows the fund; over a five-year saving period it will cost around one eighth of a year's contributions. Awqaf itself collects zakat through published accounts and its app, so the authority that will issue your permit is also the one that can receive your zakat, as covered in where to pay zakat in the UAE.

The decision: what a citizen and a resident should each do this month

A UAE citizen who has not performed Hajj should register through the Awqaf platform in the next window, obtain two or three licensed campaign quotes for the tier they want, open a National Bonds myPlan at a monthly amount that reaches the quoted figure plus 20% for exclusions within the expected waiting time, and park any lump sum already saved in Term Sukuk or Flexi Term matched to the likely season. A resident should create a Nusuk Hajj account now so that the verification stage is behind them, note the package range for their category when bookings open, and run the same saving plan with Saving Bonds for flexibility until a date firms up.

Both should refuse to treat financing as the plan, include the fund in zakat, and revisit the target each year against the newest published packages. Everything else, including the exact dirham figure, is a quote you must obtain yourself, because no official source prints it. Facts checked against awqaf.gov.ae, hajj.nusuk.sa, nationalbonds.ae, adib.ae on 17 September 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Hajj cost from the UAE?

No official figure is published. Awqaf's services guide sets eligibility and campaign licensing fees but no pilgrim tariff, and Nusuk Hajj prices packages by provider, duration and hotel grade once bookings open. Obtain a current quote from a licensed campaign or from Nusuk for your category and use that, plus an allowance for exclusions, as your saving target.

How do UAE citizens register for Hajj?

Through the Awqaf website or app during the announced window. The published conditions are UAE PASS registration, citizenship, age over 12, medical fitness and not having performed Hajj before. Applicants fill the form, take the medical examination, choose a licensed campaign, sign the digital Hajj contract and receive the permit, which cannot be transferred.

How do UAE residents who are not citizens book Hajj?

Through Nusuk Hajj, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah platform for serviced countries. You create an account, upload documents, submit and verify an application, select a category, top up the e-wallet, then choose a provider and package when they open. Registration does not guarantee acceptance; packages and payment are released later.

Is it halal to take finance for Hajj?

Islamic bank products such as ADIB Travel Finance, from 5.49% a year to AED 250,000 with salary transfer and a AED 8,000 minimum salary, are Shariah-compliant contracts, so taking one is not riba. Hajj is obligatory only on the person who is able, however, and the majority view is that borrowing to perform it is not required. Saving is the better plan; finance suits a small, late shortfall.

Do I pay zakat on money saved for Hajj?

Yes, under the majority view. Savings above the nisab held for a lunar year are zakatable at 2.5% whatever their intended use, including Hajj. A fund of AED 40,000 carries AED 1,000 of zakat on your zakat date. Include the fund in your annual calculation and pay from it; a minority opinion exempts money set aside for an imminent obligation.

Which National Bonds product suits a Hajj fund?

Saving Bonds (AED 10 units from AED 100) or myPlan (from AED 100 a month) for a fund with no fixed date; Term Sukuk (from AED 10,000, 3 to 12 months, monthly payouts on the one-year option) for a lump sum in the final year; Flexi Term (3 months to 5 years) when the travel year is known. All carry capital protection under the National Bonds Mudaraba structure.