There's a huge discussion about visas for Umrah. There is a well-known issue that Umrah visas are given out by the Saudi embassy without any costs. So what is the real purpose of free visas that so many people are concerned about? Truly I receive many e-mails informing that brokers ask so much money for these visas, but actually they should not ask for any money because these visas are given for free. I just acknowledge, I was somehow responsible for it too. I was ready that as businesses the brokers can have their own expenses relevant to the each situation so there was an added price. Nevertheless, it's far more than this. I questioned a representative of the operators of this service to enlighten why visas charge for the final customer is calculated so high. His answer was certainly very informative. Here is the plan how it works: A licensed agent in Britain should have a sponsor or kafeel that is the Saudi Company in Saudi Arabia with a special agreement with the Ministry of Hajj that gives them rights to offer Umrah and Hajj services. (note: no company can conduct business in Saudi Arabia without having a Saudi corporation as their partner). The operator of Saudi Umrah or kafeel and sponsor as they are also called has a fee. A distinctly clear fee per each issued visa that is defined before and every client should be informed about it. The embassy does not ask for an extra fee for issuing the visa but it asks for an authorization number (also known as MOFA) before giving the visa. This number for authorization is given by a Saudi Company who charge the fee for these services. Some agents and resellers of this company apply a fixed fee to the real cost that normally is between 5-10 pounds and offer them forwards. Usually, resellers in the Great Britain apply a markup to this fee and offer further services to their tourists. It's just a normal practice for agents to make some profit because they ensure this service and they have to earn something to run their own business. I hope this explanation clarifies the misunderstanding of "free" Umrah visas because as we can see after this article, it's not a fully true conception.