Summarize:

When you and your family visit Mecca for Umrah, the Saudi government requires that you do not make private travel plans to enter the country, but secure your visa through a travel agent. Licensed Umrah travel agencies will have an agreement with the Saudi government to distribute visa.  For example, if you live in the United States, you can travel through the Dawn Travels travel agency. Fill out or download their Umrah Visa Application at: http://www.dawntravels.com/download-umrah-visa-application.htm. If you live in the UK, you can find a list of approved travel agencies through the Saudi Embassy website at: https://saudiembassyuk.co.uk/. If you’re traveling internationally, you need to have a passport. You may need to renew your passport to ensure it will be valid 6 months after the travel date. So, if you’re traveling for Umrah at the beginning of March, your passport must be valid through early September. As part of your Umrah visa application, you must submit a full-size color passport photo with a white background. For the Umrah visa application, you must be directly facing the camera. A picture taken from the side, or even from a slight angle, may be rejected. If your existing passport photo fits these criteria, you may not need to take a new photo. Contact the organization through which you obtained your passport (e.g. the Post Office) and ask how to obtain a large, printed copy of the photo. Before you apply for your Umrah visa, you need to purchase your airline tickets. The tickets must be nonrefundable and the purchases should be confirmed. Be sure that the date of departure from Saudi Arabia is within 2 weeks of the date of your arrival. You will need to show your travel itinerary when you submit the Umrah application. This demonstrates to the Saudi government that you will not be in the country for longer than 2 weeks.
Contact a licensed Umrah travel agent. Obtain a passport that will be valid for 6 months past the travel date. Take a color passport photo that clearly shows your face. Obtain proof of nonrefundable air travel tickets.