Within the next year, several Gulf countries are planning on introducing a multi-nation visa, in an effort to boost tourism. Think of it as being somewhere along the lines of the Schengen concept in Europe, only not.
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Details of the Gulf’s Unified Tourist Visa concept
Six Gulf countries plan to introduce what they’re calling the Unified Tourist Visa concept, which would allow at least 30 consecutive days of travel throughout Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member nations. This includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This would be specifically for tourism and short term stays, and not for working or long term stays.
While no exact date has been announced for this concept, the plan is for it to launch in late 2025 or early 2026, so it should happen within the next year. Like anything involving bureaucracy, I’d expect that timeline to remain highly subject to change.
This would be inspired by a similar concept to the Schengen visa, where you can get a visa that allows you to travel within dozens of countries in Europe. What would be different here is that there would still be passport and visa checks as you enter each country, so it wouldn’t be true “free movement,” as you have in Europe, where there aren’t even border checks between countries.
As it stands, Gulf countries have vastly different visa requirements, which vary based on many factors, including what passport you hold. For example, as an American you don’t need any sort of a visa for a UAE, you can get a visa on arrival for Kuwait, etc.
I would imagine that if you’re currently eligible to enter a Gulf country without a visa, that would still be possible after this change. Rather, this represents a simplification of the process for those who do need a visa.
The Middle East’s motivation for multi-nation visa
Just about all Gulf countries are trying to boost their tourism, in an effort to become less reliant on oil. The UAE has of course been incredibly successful with this, while other countries in the region are trying to catch up. Admittedly in the case of Dubai, that’s largely thanks to Emirates’ huge hub there, plus the country’s more relaxed rules for visitors (at least in terms of enforcement).
Qatar is trying to boost its tourism industry following the World Cup, though visitor numbers certainly haven’t been as high since then. Meanwhile Saudi Arabia is investing an unprecedented amount of money in tourism, though it remains to be seen if that pays off.
What’s interesting is what the goal here is, more specifically. Like most things in the world, this concept was initially inspired by… Taylor Swift? No, really. As the CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority explained when the concept was first revealed, attracting major events like a Taylor Swift tour would require regional cooperation — “if we want to get the Taylor Swifts of the world, we can collaborate, with a view to an Arabian tour.”
The goal with such a visa is also to increase cruise business in the region. Currently cruise passengers need to apply for a visa for each country individually, while a unified visa would make it easier to facilitate cruise itineraries in the region.
I think there’s definitely merit to this concept for big events and cruises. Anything that simplifies travel logistics is a good thing. That being said, I don’t think we’ll suddenly see a huge increase in people planning land-based trips to multiple countries in the region. I mean, a trip to Doha, Dubai, and Kuwait, doesn’t sound like the most varied trip.
I also can’t help but be curious about the timeline here. It can take a single country years to decide on how to establish visa requirements. Then when you add six different countries into the mix (especially some countries with a lot of red tape), I can’t help but wonder if this might just be a bit more complicated than hoped.
Lastly, many people frequently travel through the region, connecting in various places. Personally, what I’d like to see most is a multi-entry visa that spans several years, rather than just single visas that allow you to travel to multiple countries within a fairly short period.
Bottom line
Six Gulf countries are hoping to introduce a unified visa concept before by late 2025 or early 2026, in order to facilitate easier travel between countries. This would no doubt be a positive development for visitors, and in particular, would make it easier to plan big events in the region. Here’s to hoping that this becomes a reality.
What do you make of the concept of a multi-nation Gulf visa?
I think you missed the point. The point is that there would be one visa for all of the countries. While there will be checks because the countries are still separate, this would avoid needing to apply for separate visas and would save passport pages. The Shengen zone is very different because of the EU, which is different than a visa partnership. There are other similar visa partnerships around the world either in planning or...
I think you missed the point. The point is that there would be one visa for all of the countries. While there will be checks because the countries are still separate, this would avoid needing to apply for separate visas and would save passport pages. The Shengen zone is very different because of the EU, which is different than a visa partnership. There are other similar visa partnerships around the world either in planning or in reality and there are also countries that accept visas from other countries too. There is a lot more than what you discuss.
Here' a novel concept ! ... " Attract more bees with honey than vinegar ' .... Clean up a dismal human rights record & increase acceptance for the more 'democratic' societies of the world...
The only downside of your novel concept is, it only deters small groups of hypocrites like you.
Many dismal human rights record country still attracts a lot of visitors, chances are you might even be living in one.
Silly me, although we're all hypocrites to some degree, at least I thought our legal system was still not based on sharia law ....
Maybe I'll visit the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to get 'enlightened' !
This has been talked about for at least a decade. I would not believe any timeline until it actually happens.
Saudi, a country that still requires male guardians to chaperone female travelers and wear the hijab wants to host of all musicians Taylor Swift!
Sorry but that's not true anymore! instead of spreading wrong information, you should travel to Saudi and check by yourself, you would be surprised!
Better yet, just pop into the Saudi Consulate in IST, just to say 'Allahu Akbar' !
Yeah, that's pretty out of date.
Of more benefit is a combined EU-UK-Australia ETA for one low fee.
Now you're talkin' !
You do realise the UK wouldn’t want it (they specifically chose to never join Schengen) the EU wouldn’t want it (still bitter after Brexit) and Australia definitely wouldn’t want it (very sensitive about our sovereignty here, zero willingness to let UK set the rules plus - what’s even the rationale, other than helping Derek with his travel plans?)
Mike asks the rationale. Easy, Trump threatens to bomb London, Brussels, and Canberra if they don't comply. BTW, the US should participate, too.
I wouldn't compare this to Schengen in any way. The point of Schengen is to abolish internal border checks within the EU, the Schengen visa is just a consequence because duh, it couldn't work otherwise. This is just a unified visa, completely different concept imho.
Only real benefit for Americans would be the Saudi part. The others are either free or minimal for short term
and that's only if you are actually interested in SA as a tourist destination. I'm unsure I know anyone who would consider this seriously.