Six Gulf countries to launch Schengen-style tourist visa
The GCC Grand Tours Visa - also known as the Unified Tourist Visa or Unified GCC Visa - was approved in 2023.
It will mean being able to visit Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates with a single permit.
The aim is to streamline travel in the region and make it easier to explore multiple countries in one trip.
Here's everything we know about when it will launch and how you can apply.
What is the Gulf's Unified Tourist Visa?
The Unified Tourist Visa will be a single permit that grants entry to all six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
At the moment, travellers are required to apply for separate visas for each country.
With the new system, non-GCC nationals will be able to choose to apply for a single-country or a multi-country option.
The unified visa will be accessed via a single portal, which also means easing the administrative burden on visitors.
To be eligible, the purpose of your visit must be tourism, a short-term stay, or seeing family and friends. The visa does not allow for employment or long-term stays.
The GCC has not yet confirmed the visa's validity period, but it is expected to range from 30 to 90 days.
The fee has also not yet been announced, but authorities say the new multi-country option will be a cost-effective alternative to the current six separate visas for those wishing to visit all member states.
The Unified Tourist Visa is expected to launch by late 2025 or early 2026.
How can I apply for the Gulf's Unified Tourist Visa?
The system is not yet live, but once it launches, it will be a fully online process through a dedicated portal.
Travellers will need to supply personal information and details of their trip, including the purpose of their visit, travel dates and intended itinerary such as transportation details between countries.
They will then be asked to select a visa for a single country or multiple Gulf states.
Applicants will need to upload various documents, which are likely to include a copy of a valid passport, a passport-style photo, proof of accommodation, travel insurance, proof of sufficient funds to cover the trip, and a confirmed return or onward travel ticket to a non-GCC destination.
Once approved, the visa will be issued via email - but travellers will also be expected to carry a printed copy with them throughout their trip.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
8 hours ago
- Euronews
Spain's housing crisis deepens: residents' anger is rising
Since 2010, housing prices in the European Union have surged by over 50% on average, while rents have climbed by 26%. Spain is among the hardest-hit nations, with rents increasing by up to 80% in the past decade. This is a crisis caused by a cocktail of scarce housing supply, inflated construction costs, the boom in short-term rentals, and foreign investor speculation. 'Barcelona is a city full of tourists. Rents are extortionate,' says Rosario Castelló, a longtime resident and member of the tenants' union, Sindicat de Llogateres. She faces eviction after her apartment block was purchased by Vandor Group, a subsidiary of British investment fund Patron Capital. 'I've lived in my flat for 26 years,' explains Rosario. 'It's where I raised my children, and where I have my clothing brand Pinku No Kuma,' she says showing the dresses she designs with her daughter. 'And Vandor wants to take my house away from me, along with everything I've achieved here,' she adds. Rosario is the last of the building's former tenants. All the other flats were turned into co-living spaces, rented to foreigners on short term leases. 'Vulture funds are massively buying entire buildings for speculation. And they're throwing us all out,' storms Castelló. 'It must stop.' Despite her lease having expired, she refuses to leave and is in legal proceedings with the owner to which she still pays rent. 'They offered me a small fee to get me out,' she explains, 'but rental prices are extortionate. I have nowhere to go.' Across Barcelona, residents like Rosario are banding together. Supported by the Sindicat de Llogateres, they are fighting to avoid evictions and pressure public authorities to intervene. 'There is a total lack of protection for the right to housing,' exclaims Martina Ges Torra, another member of the tenants' union. 'We will collectively defend this right.' The Spanish government is trying to curb the crisis. Measures include plans to remove 65,000 Airbnb listings, increase taxes on property purchases by non-EU nationals, and enforce rental caps. 'We have started to regulate the rise in rental prices,' says Barcelona's Mayor, Jaume Collboni, noting an 8% price drop in Barcelona. Another sweeping measure will eliminate all Airbnb apartments in the city by 2028, returning 10,000 homes to residential use. 'And in Catalonia, short-term rentals will be subject to the same price cap,' adds the mayor. 'This means a huge drop in profitability for investment funds – it's a deterrent.' Jaume Collboni is leading the 'Mayors for Housing Alliance' initiative, involving 15 major European cities. They have presented the EU with a European Housing Action Plan urging Brussels to invest in affordable housing and exempt such spending from the limitations of state aid rules. 'The European Commission must act,' insists Collboni. 'If citizens see that European institutions aren't addressing a problem of such magnitude, it could trigger a crisis of legitimacy,' he says, concluding: 'It's not just a social issue. The future of the European project, and of democracy itself, are also at stake.'
Euronews
10 hours ago
- Euronews
Fact check: No, the EU is not eroding European democracy
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again made dubious claims about the EU, its popularity, and the quality of its democracy. In a post on X, the multibillionaire said that Ireland and all other EU members should leave the bloc, claiming that it is destroying democracy in Europe. He made the comments in response to another post criticising a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which rejected a claim by the Irish government that it was unable to properly cover asylum seekers' basic needs due to an inundation of applicants. The court said that EU law stipulates that member states need to guarantee an adequate standard of living for asylum applicants, including housing and vouchers, even when the situation is difficult. Claims about the EU's supposed lack of democracy are often levied when the ECJ hands down a ruling that a particular political faction or figure doesn't like, but research shows that EU countries, and European nations in general, are some of the most democratic in the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Democracy Index, published this year, says that there are 25 countries in the world that are "full democracies", 13 of which are in the EU. It bases it assessment on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation, and political culture, giving each of the 167 countries a score out of 10. Some of the highest ranking include Sweden, Finland, Denmark and indeed Ireland. The number is even higher when you take into account non-EU European countries, such as Norway, which is right at the top, Iceland, Switzerland and the UK. Other non-European countries that scored particularly highly are New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan and Canada. Many other EU countries are labelled "flawed democracies" by the EIU, but this is still the second-highest rank in the index. France, Malta, Slovenia and Latvia are some of the member states making up the numbers here. Outside of Europe, Musk's home of the US is also listed as a "flawed democracy", as is his native South Africa. The EIU notes that European countries dominate the top 10 and top 20 in the rankings, particularly the Nordics and Western Europe. "Western Europe has the highest index score of any region, at 8.38, and was the only one to improve its overall score in 2024, albeit marginally," it said, adding that there was a decline in democracy worldwide while autocracies appeared to be growing in strength. It added, however, that despite this overall success for the old continent, democracy in some EU nations has deteriorated, such as Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, the last of which is ranked as a "hybrid regime" — these combine elements of electoral democracy with authoritarian behaviours, according to the study. In Hungary, there was a decline in public confidence in the government and a worsening of corruption, according to the EIU. Bulgaria also saw its corruption score deteriorate. While there is still a clear democratic divide between eastern and western EU countries, the gap is closing slowly: the Czech Republic and Estonia made it into the "full democracies" list this year, after a decade of no eastern European country making the cut.
Euronews
3 days ago
- Euronews
OPEC+ agrees to boost oil production in large output hike
OPEC+ on Sunday agreed to boost oil production by 548,000 barrels per day from September in a move that could further reduce gas prices this year. OPEC+ had been curtailing production of oil for several years to support oil prices, but changed course earlier this year after calls by US President Donald Trump to ramp up production. Saudi Arabia holds significant influence in OPEC+ as the dominant member of the OPEC producers' cartel, and Russia is the leading non-OPEC member in the 22-country alliance. The decision comes amid increasing US pressure to bring Moscow to the negotiating table to end their ongoing, full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Our journalists are working on this story and will update it as soon as more information becomes available.
