GCC Unifies Visas for 2026 Across Six Member States

Saudi Arabia’s tourism minister announced that the Gulf Cooperation Council will launch a new regional entry permit in 2026, allowing visitors to travel across all six Gulf states with a single application. The permit, officially named the GCC Grand Tours Visa, is designed as a unified visa covering the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman.

The scheme mirrors a Schengen-style approach in Europe by removing the need for separate visas for each country on the same trip. It targets short-term travel, with expected stays of about one to three months for tourism and family visits, and a digital process intended to cut paperwork for millions of travelers.

Purpose and timing

The rollout marks one of the clearest attempts by Gulf governments to turn cross-border mobility into a growth engine for tourism, conferences, and regional events. The proposed timeline places the launch in 2026, with officials pointing to a possible pilot phase in late 2025.

Although full details are still being shaped, authorities describe a simple online application requiring key documents—passport, photo, travel insurance, accommodation information, and proof of funds—followed by fee payment and digital delivery. If the schedule holds, the Gulf could enter 2026 with a shared entry system that enables multi-stop itineraries like Dubai–Doha–Muscat or Riyadh–Kuwait City–Manama without multiple consular visits.

Economic rationale

Officials say the measure supports broader economic goals as leaders push to grow sectors beyond oil. Tourism is now treated as a strong pillar alongside trade. Airlines, hotels, and event organizers have long flagged the drop-off between international arrivals and intra-region travel as a missed opportunity.

• The four largest Gulf airlines reportedly carried close to 150 million passengers last year, but only about 70 million of those journeys were within the GCC.
• A single, easy-to-use permit is meant to increase intra-GCC travel by making short hops between capitals far simpler for families, tour groups, and business delegates.

How the permit may work

Early outlines suggest the permit will match how people actually travel, offering choices and flexibility:

• Applicants may select single-country entry or multi-country access.
• Stay windows are likely to fall between 30 and 90 days.
• The document is primarily for tourism and family visits, but it also signals benefits for business travel, higher education, and remote work communities.

While the permit does not create a work right or long-term stay option, greater openness at entry often leads to smoother rules for conferences, trade fairs, and campus events that draw short-term cross-border visitors.

Application process (expected)

Authorities have outlined a digital-first design:

1. Upload required documents:
   • Passport
   • Photo
   • Travel insurance
   • Accommodation information
   • Proof of funds
2. Pay the fee online.
3. Receive a digital permit.

Important: Governments will likely announce the official portal and full instructions closer to launch. For core info on GCC coordination, consult the Gulf Cooperation Council Secretariat: https://www.gcc-sg.org/en-us/Pages/default.aspx

Outstanding design and policy questions

Several critical design choices remain unsettled and will shape how useful the permit becomes:

• Will multiple entry be allowed by default, or will applicants choose between single and multiple entries?
• Will validity and stay rules be identical across all countries, or will national rules apply after crossing an internal border?
• How will overstay be handled if a traveler crosses an internal border late in their trip?
• How will security, data sharing, and border procedures be aligned across all six states?

Officials acknowledge these are standard issues for any Schengen-style system and say they are working on the required technical and legal links.

Expected benefits for travel industry and businesses

Tourism companies, airlines, and hotels foresee tangible lifts from a unified permit:

• Travel agencies can sell multi-city tours with one visa, reducing booking friction and consular delays.
• Airlines could benefit on short-haul routes, where business travelers and families often finalize plans late.
• Hotels in secondary cities may gain if travelers are encouraged to add extra stops.
• Analysis by VisaVerge.com suggests winners will be carriers and agencies that can quickly market “Grand Tours” routes and bundle events, museums, and desert stays into single itineraries.

For businesses, a simpler permit makes it easier to attend meetings and conferences across several cities on the same trip, improving the Gulf’s appeal for investors, trade delegations, and multinational events.

Impact on students, researchers, and remote workers

The permit matters beyond tourism:

• Students can combine conference visits and campus tours across GCC states without multiple visas.
• Researchers and remote workers who split time between hubs (e.g., Doha and Muscat) may find short stays easier to coordinate.
• Universities hosting regional festivals or innovation weeks could attract wider audiences if visitors can add short cross-border trips.

Note: the policy will not grant work rights or new long-term stay options; it merely reduces entry barriers for short visits.

Diaspora and cross-border family travel

For the large Indian diaspora in the Gulf, the scheme promises simpler weekend travel and family visits across borders.

• Many Indians have ties across several Gulf states; the current patchwork of permits complicates short breaks.
• Under the unified visa, a family in Abu Dhabi might add a two-day trip to Muscat without filing a new application.
• Indian policymakers will monitor impacts on student and tourism flows, since easier regional trips could shift outbound travel patterns from major Indian cities.

Digital platform and operational considerations

A single online portal is central to the plan, but building one platform to serve six different legal systems is a technical and administrative challenge.

• Governments will announce the platform address and instructions closer to launch.
• Travelers should verify requirements using official sources ahead of travel.

What the public will watch for

Public and industry uptake will depend on several practical details:

• Price: A lower fee than six separate permits will encourage multi-stop trips.
• Processing time: Fast decisions will increase adoption.
• Multiple entry: If standard, it will further incentivize stacked itineraries.

Even if some elements are limited, the scheme removes duplication and reduces the risk of mismatched visa dates across countries. Officials emphasize the core idea: one application, one fee, one digital permit that opens the door to all six states for short stays.

Final notes and outlook

• The GCC Grand Tours Visa is targeted for 2026, with a possible pilot in late 2025.
• It will not change national rules for employment, study, or long-term residency—each country will retain its own policies.
• By making short-term movement easier, the permit aims to create a more connected Gulf where students, families, and business visitors build trips around events and relationships rather than bureaucracy.

Until final details are confirmed, travelers and companies have time to plan routes and packages that take advantage of more fluid intra-GCC movement when the system launches. The region’s message is clear: the Gulf wants to make it easier to come, to move, and to see more than one skyline on the same ticket.