Umrah is the dream of all Muslims. With regulations that make it easier for worshipers, various ways and sources of funds such as savings, stocks, and Government Bonds are also done to fulfill the dream of worship in the holy land.
According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Indonesian pilgrims who are able to perform the Umrah pilgrimage can reach up to one million people per year. The high demand made the Arab government limit the quota for Umrah pilgrims.
However, complicated health restrictions and regulations have not hindered the dream of Umrah. The congregation is still trying to prepare mentally and financially in waiting for their turn until they are finally able to worship in the Holy Land.
New Umrah Rules as a Motivation for Owning Government Bonds
The pandemic period has forced many countries including Indonesia and Saudi Arabia to massively limit the number of people entering and leaving their respective countries. This restriction greatly affects the number of pilgrims who can carry out the Umrah pilgrimage.
However, the pandemic cases in the world are getting better, leading to looser restrictions, especially by Arab countries. New policies and regulations were issued to overcome the losses that occurred with the previous closure of Umrah access.
Seeing the high demand for Indonesian Umrah pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia has eased their regulations, especially for pilgrims from Indonesia, such as:
- Meningitis Vaccine No Longer Obligatory
Unlike the previous requirements, meningitis vaccination is no longer a mandatory requirement for the Umrah pilgrimage at this time. However, you are still recommended to get it to maintain personal health.
- Female Umrah Pilgrims are Allowed to Go without a Mahram
Female pilgrims can independently register and travel for Umrah with the platform launched by the Saudi Arabian government, namely Nusuk. This policy will make Hajj and Umrah services more open to female pilgrims.
- Umroh Visa Validity Period Extended to 90 Days
Unlike the previous Umrah visa period, which was 30 days, the validity period for the 2023 Umrah visa was extended to 90 days. You can use it to travel, especially with additional funds from Government Bonds.
- Umroh Visa Can be Used to Visit Other Places
The extended visa validity period allows pilgrims to visit places other than Mecca and Medina. Visas will also be issued in a faster time.
- Elimination of Age Limits for Indonesian Umrah Pilgrims
Previously, pilgrims had an age limit for Umrah, which was 65 years. This latest policy removes these restrictions thereby increasing the quota for Umrah.
The easing of Umrah requirements from Saudi Arabia for Indonesia will greatly facilitate pilgrims to perform Umrah. After not opening for a long time, you and other Indonesian pilgrims have a bigger chance to go for Umrah.
However, the increasingly lax conditions have created new challenges. Easier conditions make the demand for Umrah worship higher. The higher the demand, the higher the price.
AMPHURI or the Muslim Association of Hajj and Umrah Organizers of the Republic of Indonesia has predicted that there will be an increase in Umrah fees in 2023. This increase in costs is mainly due to an increase in airfare prices of up to 15-20% from the previous price.
Government Bonds as Funds for Umrah
Higher costs don't have to take away your dream of Umrah. There are various ways that you can do to perform holy worship. One of them is Bonds.
Bonds are investments in the form of debt securities issued by an institution to obtain additional capital.
Unlike stocks, which issue share certificates as proof of legal ownership of the company, Bonds are just proof of the receivables that you have from the company.
The Bond Issuer will later pay the coupon during the validity period of the Bond. All debt securities that you have will be paid when they are due. The Bonds you own can also be traded on the secondary market.
Based on the nominal, Bonds can be divided into two types, namely Conventional Bonds and Retail Bonds. Meanwhile, according to the issuer, it is divided into three types, namely Government Bonds, Corporate Bonds, and Regional Government Bonds.
Government Bonds are Bonds issued by the Indonesian government offered to the public individually.
Bonds from the government are one of the safest investment products because they are managed directly by the state. The investment risk is quite low. You can consider these advantages in choosing a source of funds to carry out the Umrah pilgrimage.
Apart from helping the state raise funds to carry out its functions, you can also take advantage of the benefits of Bonds as one of your sources of Umrah funds.
The greater the number of Bonds, the greater the profit potential that can be obtained until maturity. Therefore, Bonds are very suitable for fulfilling the financial goals of Umrah with a maturity of about 3-5 years.
Apart from looking for sources of funds, you should also start calculating the costs needed to perform Umrah, especially if you do it with your family. You certainly don't want to run out of funds while in a foreign country.
For example, you and three family members want to go for Umrah with the 29-day Regular Full Ramadan Umrah Package. The package price is around IDR 55 million, multiplied by four people, the cost required is around IDR 220 million.
Umrah costs are also increasing every year, especially in 2023. Assuming a 3% increase, the minimum cost you need to prepare is around IDR 227 million.
You may also wish to take advantage of an additional 90-day visa period from the easing of the current Umrah regulations. You can roughly estimate the cost of three months in Saudi Arabia by multiplying your previous total by three.
Thus, you can perform Umrah with three other family members plus tours to various places in Saudi Arabia with a total cost of around IDR 681 million.
DBS Treasures: Solution for Raising Family Umrah Funds
The cost of going for Umrah with the family is indeed high, especially with the increase in prices. The costs will be even greater when you plan to take advantage of the 90-day visa period by visiting various places in Saudi Arabia.
If you decide to use Bonds as a source of funds for Umrah, you should invest in Bonds and make DBS Treasures priority banking as your wealth management partner.
With DBS Treasures, you can invest in Bonds confidently at the right momentum with insights curated for you. You will also get other advantages such as:
- You can gain regular income through regular coupons that will be paid during the investment period by the Bond issuer.
- There is a potential Capital Gain or profit from rising Bond prices which you can then sell at any time before maturity.
- Coupons that are competitive with coupon rates above the average interest on Fixed Deposits.
- Buying Government Bonds does not incur additional costs, just the spread or the difference between the selling price and the buying price (bid and offer).
- You can make transactions for various types of Bond products which can be traded anytime and anywhere through the digibank by DBS Application.
Are you interested in investing in Government Bonds? If so, you can choose DBS Treasures as your wealth management partner. You can find more information about DBS Treasures and Bonds at https://www.dbs.id/id/treasures/investasi/structured-product/investing-in-bonds
