European-style single Gulf visa likely by mid-2014

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are planning to launch a European-style single visa to allow Gulf-based expats and foreign businessmen to move easily across the borders of the six-member bloc.

The move which will be launched by mid 2014 is set to boost tourism and trade in the region, and cut out lengthy bureaucratic delays, a media report said.

The GCC interior ministers are working on the details of the project, Abdul Rahim Hassan Al Naqi, secretary-general of the GCC Chambers of Commerce and Industry was quoted as saying by The Arab News report.

The Gulf countries are working on the technical details of the project, especially an automated system that will link the member countries, the report said.

Calling this a positive development, Abdul Rahman Al Zamil, president of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, "the move is significant, keeping in mind the growing number of foreigners visiting the Gulf countries for business and tourism. The GCC single visa will be modelled on the Schengen visa".

Travelling on a Schengen Visa means that the visa holder can travel to any (or all) member countries using one single visa, thus avoiding the hassle and expense of obtaining individual visas for each country.

Urging the GCC officials to speed up the project Al Zamil said the single visa would facilitate the movement of about 15 million foreign workers residing in the Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia.

"The introduction of the visa will have impressive benefits for the Gulf economy and will boost the income of citizens, mainly in the tourism sector," Al Zamil said.

Gulf countries do need to have an electronic link between themselves to exchange data and therefore, ease the implementation of the common Gulf tourism visa.

The Gulf Cooperation Council includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.