According to a recent interview with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, the GCC expects to finalize the concept of a Unified Tourist Visa (GCC Grand Tours Visa) by the end of 2024. According to Al-Budaiwi, “Every non-Gulf citizen wishing to visit any of the GCC countries will have the option of a single visa for the country they intend to visit, or the unified visa for GCC countries.”
The Unified Tourist Visa is part of a wider economic plan that will include developing a Gulf Customs Union that encourages further tourism across the Gulf and establishes the Gulf region as a premier tourist destination.
Rather than applying for individual tourist visas for each Gulf country a visitor intends to travel to, the Unified Tourist Visa would be used as a multiple-entry tourist visa. GCC countries involved in the Unified Tourist Visa concept include Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar.
The Unified Tourist Visa concept was initially proposed to boost tourism, making it easier for tourists to visit multiple Gulf countries without going through the lengthy process of applying for multiple visas. To create this new visa scheme, the GCC will need to merge the visa application processes for the six countries. It hopes to finalize the concept by the end of December 2024.
Once the final concept of the Unified Tourist Visa is finalized, the GCC expects to announce an implementation date for the scheme to begin.