Plans to introduce a unified Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) tourist visa—widely described as a Middle East equivalent of Europe’s Schengen regime—have been postponed once again, with authorities confirming a revised launch timeline of 2026 instead of this year. Regional tourism officials say that Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE must still resolve key technical and data-security challenges before immigration platforms can be interconnected, watchlists aligned and visa fee payments harmonised across all six markets.
Branded as the GCC Grand Tours Visa, the initiative aims to allow travellers to enter the region through any one member state and move freely across the bloc for up to 30 days. The scheme is expected to significantly streamline travel for leisure visitors, MICE participants and business travellers. Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism estimates it could extend average visitor stays by three days and unlock an additional USD 50 billion in cross-border tourism spending within its first five years. While a phased rollout was initially anticipated by late 2025, officials now acknowledge that developing shared IT frameworks, biometric standards and revenue-sharing mechanisms is proving more time-consuming than planned.
For corporate mobility teams, the delay presents both challenges and opportunities. Companies must continue navigating multiple e-visa systems, insurance requirements and border re-entry processes for staff travelling frequently within the Gulf. At the same time, the extended timeline gives airlines, travel operators and HR teams valuable breathing space to adapt booking platforms, duty-of-care measures and internal travel policies ahead of implementation. Specialists recommend that businesses with regular intra-GCC travel—particularly in sectors such as construction, energy and consulting—retain existing multi-entry visa arrangements until at least the second quarter of 2026.
