The Gulf Cooperation Council's unified tourist visa is moving closer to launch, with the bloc's secretary-general publicly signalling that the long-planned permit is nearly ready.
Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary-General of the GCC, told attendees at the Security and History Dialogue 2026 in Riyadh on September 6 that the unified visa would "see the light soon."
He said the permit would make it easier for international visitors to move between the six member states but did not announce a specific launch date, nor did he disclose details on cost, validity or how to apply. According to Khaleej Times, the permit, also known as the GCC Grand Tourist Visa, is expected to allow foreign nationals to visit the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait under a single authorisation, functioning much like the Schengen visa does across European countries.
Long Road to Implementation
The proposal has been in motion for several years. GCC tourism ministers unanimously backed it in October 2023, and interior ministers followed with their own approval the following month. By June 2025, UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri confirmed that the visa had been approved and was awaiting implementation, though no date had been set at that point.
Al Marri described it at the time as a step towards stronger regional integration and positioning the Gulf as a single tourism destination.
Other GCC Integration Projects
Albudaiwi raised the tourist visa alongside other initiatives designed to ease movement across the region. One of these is the UAE-Bahrain "One-Point Air Travellers" project, which entered its pilot phase in February 2026. The system connects Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi with Bahrain International Airport, allowing passengers to complete immigration procedures at departure using biometric verification and e-gates, so they pass through without additional checks on arrival.
Albudaiwi described the experience: "You complete passport procedures in Bahrain, and when you arrive in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah or any city, you enter without stopping at an immigration officer."
It is worth noting that the one-stop travel system and the unified tourist visa are distinct initiatives. The former is designed to streamline travel for GCC citizens, while the latter targets foreign visitors.
Regional Integration as Investment Driver
On September 7, Albudaiwi spoke at both the 15th AIM Congress in Dubai and the opening panel of the third Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi, where he highlighted decades of Gulf economic integration, including the GCC Free Trade Area, Customs Union and Common Market. He said integration had itself become an investment driver, with the six economies increasingly linked through cross-border infrastructure, business networks and supply chains.
