Indonesia pushes for flexible Hajj age limit
Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar advocates for a health-based eligibility criterion
JAKARTA, Indonesia (MNTV) – Indonesia is seeking greater flexibility in the country’s age restrictions for Hajj pilgrims.
The current policy sets a maximum age limit of 90 years.
The country’s Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar is advocating for a health-based eligibility criterion rather than a strict age limit.
This aligns with Indonesia’s Presidential Decree No. 6 of 2025, which prioritizes medical fitness in determining a pilgrim’s eligibility.
As of March 3, approximately 165,613 Indonesian pilgrims—82.37 percent of the total—have met the health requirements to travel to Makkah.
“We continue to engage with Saudi officials, including the minister of religious affairs and the minister of health, regarding the 90-year age cap. I have urged them to consider Indonesia’s approach, where medical evaluations determine a pilgrim’s fitness rather than a rigid age limit,” he said during a parliamentary session.
About 221,000 Indonesians are set to go on Hajj—a major pilgrimage that Muslims are required to perform at least once in their lifetime—this year. Saudi Arabia has also allowed Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, to send 2,210 Hajj officers.
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