Page 185 - MOET PR REPORT- SEPTEMBER 2025

10/1/25, 8:47 AM UAE Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri: Unified GCC Tourist Visa Pilot Phase To Start In Q4 2025
He stated that the unified GCC tourist visa, which is equivalent to the Schengen-style visa, giving tourists the
option to explore 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.”

Speaking to the UAE news agency Wam, he emphasized that the full implementation of the visa, also referred
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to as the GCC Grand Tourist Visa, will be introduced in another phase.

However, the minister did not reveal the exact date when the single GCC visa was launched.

In an interview with Khaleej Times on June 16, 2025, Al Marri stated that the GCC single tourist visa has been
approved and it would be implemented “soon”.

Al Marri stated in the interview during the UAE Hospitality Summer Camp sidelines that “The single (GCC)
tourist visa has been approved and is now waiting to be implemented, hopefully, soon. Now, it is with the
Ministry of Interior and the relevant stakeholders, and they should look into it.”

Single GCC T
ourist V
isa to permit travel across six Gulf countries. Image Credit: Getty Images
Single GCC Tourist Visa to permit travel across six Gulf countries. Image Credit: Getty Images
GCC Grand Tourist Visa will enable foreign tourists to explore the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman,
and Kuwait on one visa. The duration and the price of the visa are still not announced.

The executives of the travel and tourism industry feel that this visa will be a game-changer for the regional
tourism sector and the economy as a whole, generating thousands of employment opportunities and a
massive increase in GDP. It will increase religious and “bleisure” tourism in the area.

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