The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an alliance between Gulf states, works on a joint visa for its six member states. This new visa will be called ‘GCC Grand Tours’ and will be introduced by the end of 2024. Currently, travellers still need to apply for a separate visa for each of the six countries, including Oman.
Earlier plans for a joint visa
Plans for a joint visa have been discussed by the countries before. In May 2023, Oman and Saudi Arabia agreed to a proposal for the introduction of a joint visa. Later that year, plans were made for an even broader joint visa allowing travellers to also visit Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. In October, all six Gulf states agreed to the introduction of the joint visa. Currently, citizens of the six countries may already travel visa-free to the other GCC-countries.
Now there is a concrete proposal for introducing the joint visa before the end of 2024. The visa is modelled on the European Schengen visa which allows its holders to travel to all member states of the Schengen area. Oman and the other Gulf states hope that the new visa will attract more tourists who want to travel around the region for longer periods of time. Also, the GCC countries aim to increase the visibility of the tourist attractions in the region.
The GCC Grand Tours visa
The name of the new joint visa was announced in May this year at the yearly tourist fair Arabian Travel Market in Dubai. The visa will be called ‘GCC Grand Tours’. The expectation is that this visa will allow travellers to stay in Oman, Saudi-Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait for more than 30 days, and to travel between the countries as much as they want. It will not be necessary any more to apply for a separate visa or another type of travel authorisation for each individual country. Since the visa will be valid for a stay of more than 30 days, it will allow travellers to visit multiple Gulf countries on the same trip.
Impulse for tourism to the region
The GCC-countries have been trying to boost tourism to the region for a while already, by integrating their markets. They have invested in airports, cruise terminals, a common railway network and other projects to improve the infrastructure. The GCC Grand Tours visa is supposed to support this even further, as the new visa will make it easier and cheaper for tourists to visit multiple Arab Gulf States.
Current visa rules for Oman
The exact date when the GCC Grand Tours visa will become available has not been announced yet. The plan is to introduce the visa before the end of the year. The exact requirements for the application of the joint visa are also not clear yet. This means that individuals who want to travel to Oman or any of the other member states of the GCC will have to abide to the current visa policies of the separate countries for now.
Travellers to Oman need a visa if they intend to stay in the country for more than 14 days. It is no longer possible to apply for a visa on arrival at an airport in Oman, but the Oman visa can be applied for online. Once it is issued, the e-visa is delivered by email. Afterwards, applicants should print their visa and carry it with them to Oman.