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10/1/25, 8:45 AM GCC single tourist visa: Schengen-style permit to be launched this year | Khaleej Times
1 tourist visa for 6 GCC countries set for pilot launch this

year: UAE minister

Executives believe that all GCC countries will be beneficiaries of this new visa, but the UAE and Saudi Arabia will
attract the most tourists

Published: Mon 29 Sept 2025, 10:01 AM Updated: Mon 29 Sept 2025, 10:33 AM

Waheed Abbas
By: Waheed Abbas Share:

Photo: KT File

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will launch the pilot phase of the unified tourist visa in
the fourth quarter of this year, said Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism
and Chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council.

He said the unified GCC tourist visa — which is similar to the Schengen-style visa, offering visitors to
visit all six GCC countries — is a “strategic step towards deeper regional integration and will enhance
the Gulf’s collective appeal as a single tourism destination.”

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