Pilgrims from 5 countries including Bangladesh must provide fingerprints for Umrah visa

To get an electronic Umrah visa, pilgrims from Bangladesh and four other countries must provide their biometric data, including "fingerprints", according to Saudi authority.

The UK, Tunisia, Kuwait, and Malaysia besides Bangladesh were listed under the ordaining as announced by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, reports Gulf News.

According to the new rules, pilgrims will have to use the Saudi Visa Bio app that allows for visa registration via fingerprints and selfie biometrics to attend significant Muslim pilgrimages.

Last year, the Saudi government made a commitment to allow biometrics enrolment through mobile devices so pilgrims to Mecca can avoid visiting visa centres in person.

This will allow the country to become the first ever to accept biometrics by mobile for visa issuance.

Earlier this year, the country also released an electronic passport with a chip that stores the user's biometrics for authentication purposes.