Kathmandu. Travel to all 6 countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will soon be possible with a single visa.
The JCC is starting a single integrated tourist visa trial this year. This will allow you to travel to GCC countries under a single permit. It will eliminate the need for separate visas to visit Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This will directly benefit foreign tourists.
Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Finance of the UAE and Chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council, confirmed the pilot project on the occasion of World Tourism Day 2025. In an interview with the UAE news agency WAM, Al Marri said that this visa will be fully implemented after the pilot phase. ’
It is called the GCC Grand Tourist Visa. The official start date for this visa has not yet been announced.
How TAG_OPEN_strong_21 will this visa work?
The Integrated GCC Tourist Visa or GCC Grand Tourist Visa is based on Europe’s Schengen visa system. This allows passengers to travel freely in many countries using the same permission. This visa will also cover 6 Gulf countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.
The UAE government has described the visa as a strategic step towards regional integration. This will increase the collective appeal of the Gulf region as a single tourist destination. By allowing tourists to travel between GCC countries without multiple visas, the Gulf region will be established as a more accessible and integrated travel hub for international tourists.
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The GCC countries have made this policy change at a time when they are actively expanding tourism and infrastructure. A unified visa will eliminate repetitive paperwork and many applications. It will provide access to all 6 countries, significantly simplifying the travel process and benefiting tourism.
Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri said, “The unified visa has received formal approval and is expected to come into force soon. No specific date has been given for its full implementation. However, officials in the region have consistently indicated that it is expected to start soon.
