GCC Unified Visa To Be Launched Soon: Al-Budaiwi

Jassim Al-Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), announced that the Unified GCC visa will be launched soon.

The announcement came during the 39th meeting of the GCC Passport Directors-General, which was attended by the heads of immigration of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, along with the head of the GCC. It was held at the General Secretariat’s headquarters in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Al-Budaiwi shared that the passport departments of the GCC’s interior ministries have been working hard towards the roll out of the visa by conducting joint technical meetings.

During the meeting, he reviewed the agenda and gathered the latest updates from the technical teams regarding the GCC Unified visa. The Secretary-General commended the efforts taken by the GCC countries to increase cooperation and collaboration, specifically regarding passports.

The GCC Unified visa, also known as the GCC Grand Tours visa, is a Schengen-style visa that will enable travellers to visit all six GCC countries with a single visa.

The new initiative will eliminate the need to apply for separate visas for each country, making travel within the region highly convenient. It is anticipated that foreign nationals can apply for the visa online through the GCC Grand Tours visa website, which has yet to be launched.

The GCC Unified visa will not only bring a host of benefits for travelers by simplifying travel to the region, but is set to boost tourism and strengthen economic growth across all the GCC states.