How to verify an Umrah agent in Pakistan
Including us. These six checks catch the overwhelming majority of Umrah fraud in Pakistan. We would rather you ran them on every agency you speak to, this one included, than that another family loses a lifetime’s savings.
- CHECK 01
Match the bank account name to the company name, character for character
This single check catches most of it. A licensed agency receives money in the registered company's name. If you are asked to transfer to an individual, to a slightly different spelling, or to a “sister company”, stop there. Not a partial payment, not an advance — stop.
Pass looks like: The account title and the registered company name are identical.
- CHECK 02
Ask for the hotel confirmation in the pilgrim's own name
Not a screenshot of a booking in the agency's name, which can be cancelled without you ever knowing. The confirmation should carry the traveller's name as printed in the passport. Ask when you will get it, and hold them to the date.
Pass looks like: A confirmation carrying the traveller's name as printed in the passport.
- CHECK 03
Ask what is NOT included, and get it in writing
Meals, extra ziyarat, laundry, qurbani, excess baggage. An agent who cannot list the exclusions quickly either does not know their own product or is relying on you not asking.
Pass looks like: A written exclusions list you can forward to the family.
- CHECK 04
Ask for the distance in metres, then check it on a map yourself
“Close to Haram” and “walking distance” are not measurements. A real answer is a number with a unit, and it takes thirty seconds to re-run the walking route.
Pass looks like: A number with a unit, which matches the map when you re-run the route.
- CHECK 05
Refuse any offer of a work visa or a job abroad
Selling overseas employment requires a promoter licence from the Bureau of Emigration. Almost nobody offering it on WhatsApp has one, and an unlicensed offer is a criminal offence — with your money on the wrong side of it.
Pass looks like: The agency tells you no, in writing, and does not hedge.
- CHECK 06
Get the payment plan and the cancellation terms before the first rupee
What is due, when, and what happens if you cancel or if they do. If it is only ever discussed verbally, that is the answer.
Pass looks like: A written schedule and cancellation terms, before any money moves.
Our own details, so you can check them
Iqbal Town, Lahore
Ask us for any of the six above and we will send it. If we ever fail one of these checks, you should walk away from us too.