The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is getting ready to launch a unified tourist visa that will allow international visitors to travel across all six Gulf countries—UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait—with just one visa.
With this new visa, tourists will be able to enter any one Gulf country and then travel freely across the rest without needing separate visas. It’s a huge improvement from the past, where travelers had to apply for each country separately.
The unified visa is part of the Gulf’s Vision 2030 plan to boost tourism, make travel easier, and grow the region’s economy.
For tourists, this means easier planning, lower costs, and the chance to visit more places in one trip. Business travelers can also benefit, as they’ll be able to extend work trips for leisure without any extra visa hassle—supporting the trend of “bleisure” travel.
The tourism industry is expected to grow faster with this change. For example, the UAE had 833,000 travel and tourism jobs in 2024, and that number could reach over 1 million by 2030. The same kind of growth is expected across other Gulf countries.
“The single [GCC] tourist visa has been approved and is now awaiting implementation. It’s with the Ministry of Interior and relevant stakeholders.”
Al Marri told reporters during the UAE Hospitality Summer Camp press conference.
This new visa is also a big win for hotel owners, travel agencies, tour guides, and investors, who will benefit from the rise in cross-border tourism.
Even though there’s no exact date yet, sources suggest the visa could go live by Q3 2025. Government departments across the Gulf are working on finalizing systems and travel rules.
The goal is clear: to make the Gulf region feel like one single travel destination, open and easy for visitors from all over the world.
For updates, check the UAE Ministry of Economy .
