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29 March 2024

GCC's EU-style Schengen visa: Latest update

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By Staff

Gulf oil producers are considering introducing an EU-style Schengen collective visa system that will allow expatriates in the region and foreign tourists to visit all member states, a Saudi newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The Saudi-based Federation of GCC Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FGCCI) has presented a proposal on a unified visa to the Riyadh-based Secretariat of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Arabic language daily Al Eqtisadiah said.

It quoted FGCCI secretary general Abdul Rahim Naqi as saying the GCC ministers of interior would discuss the plan at their next talks in Riyadh.

“A GCC Schengen visa will allow foreign tourists and expatriates residing in the GCC to visit any GCC country and move freely among member states,” Naqi said.

He said a unified visa system between UAE, Oman and Qatar has proved the success of such an experience, adding that it could be expanded to encompass all GCC states.

“The enforcement of this visa proposal will have various benefits as it will boost the GCC economy and increase the income of citizens while it will not violate the sovereignty of any member country.”

Naqi stressed that GCC countries — UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman — need first to set up what he described as an electronic linkage to keep track of all visitors, adding this would facilitate the enforcement of a “GCC Schengen”.

In the European Union, the Schengen area is a group of 26 members that have abolished passport and immigration controls at their common borders.

It functions as a single country for international travel purposes, with a common visa policy.