Travellers hoping to use a single visa to visit all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will have to wait a little longer. Senior officials confirmed this week that the GCC Grand Tours Visa – often dubbed the Gulf’s “Schengen-style” permit – will not begin pilot operations until 2026, instead of the late-2025 launch originally promised. In remarks carried by regional media, technical and security teams across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain said they need more time to integrate immigration databases, risk-profiling tools and biometric-sharing protocols before opening the system to the public. (m.economictimes.com)
The Grand Tours Visa is central to the UAE’s ambition to double visitor numbers by the end of the decade and to Saudi Arabia’s target of 150 million tourists a year. For Dubai hoteliers and destination-management companies, the scheme promises longer average stays, multi-city itineraries and easier add-on sales (for example, combining Expo City Dubai with Muscat’s mountain retreats or Riyadh’s heritage sites). Analysts at Colliers estimate that a seamless Gulf itinerary could lift intra-GCC visitor nights by 15-20 percent within three years of launch.
For travellers juggling multiple visa applications in the meantime, specialist platforms such as VisaHQ can streamline the process. Their team can coordinate UAE tourist visas online, monitor requirements for the other GCC states, and provide real-time status alerts—saving both leisure visitors and corporate planners valuable time. You can explore current options here: https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/
![GCC Schengen-style tourist visa pushed back to 2026 as UAE, neighbours fine-tune security systems]()
Behind the delay lie two complex challenges. First, the six states run different entry-permit platforms (Dubai’s GDRFA, Abu Dhabi’s ICP, Saudi’s Absher, etc.) that must now speak to one another in real time. Second, the bloc is building a joint “watch-list” architecture covering counter-terrorism, health alerts and overstayer data – something Europe’s Schengen zone took more than a decade to perfect. Officials say phased stress-tests will begin later this year, followed by a limited beta involving tour operators and cruise lines.
Practically, nothing changes for travellers this winter: visitors must still secure separate visas (or visa-on-arrival where eligible) for each Gulf destination. UAE businesses arranging incentive trips through multiple cities should budget extra processing time and cost until at least early 2026. Once the unified visa arrives, stakeholders expect a single-fee model – likely around AED 330-380 for 30 days – and a fully digital application routed through a GCC portal.
For mobility managers, the message is clear: keep advising executives and leisure groups to follow existing national rules, but prepare comms and booking flows for a switch to a one-visa, multi-country regime in about 18 months. Those planning regional events in 2026-27 may eventually benefit from simplified logistics and lower documentation overheads.
The Grand Tours Visa is central to the UAE’s ambition to double visitor numbers by the end of the decade and to Saudi Arabia’s target of 150 million tourists a year. For Dubai hoteliers and destination-management companies, the scheme promises longer average stays, multi-city itineraries and easier add-on sales (for example, combining Expo City Dubai with Muscat’s mountain retreats or Riyadh’s heritage sites). Analysts at Colliers estimate that a seamless Gulf itinerary could lift intra-GCC visitor nights by 15-20 percent within three years of launch.
For travellers juggling multiple visa applications in the meantime, specialist platforms such as VisaHQ can streamline the process. Their team can coordinate UAE tourist visas online, monitor requirements for the other GCC states, and provide real-time status alerts—saving both leisure visitors and corporate planners valuable time. You can explore current options here: https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/
Behind the delay lie two complex challenges. First, the six states run different entry-permit platforms (Dubai’s GDRFA, Abu Dhabi’s ICP, Saudi’s Absher, etc.) that must now speak to one another in real time. Second, the bloc is building a joint “watch-list” architecture covering counter-terrorism, health alerts and overstayer data – something Europe’s Schengen zone took more than a decade to perfect. Officials say phased stress-tests will begin later this year, followed by a limited beta involving tour operators and cruise lines.
Practically, nothing changes for travellers this winter: visitors must still secure separate visas (or visa-on-arrival where eligible) for each Gulf destination. UAE businesses arranging incentive trips through multiple cities should budget extra processing time and cost until at least early 2026. Once the unified visa arrives, stakeholders expect a single-fee model – likely around AED 330-380 for 30 days – and a fully digital application routed through a GCC portal.
For mobility managers, the message is clear: keep advising executives and leisure groups to follow existing national rules, but prepare comms and booking flows for a switch to a one-visa, multi-country regime in about 18 months. Those planning regional events in 2026-27 may eventually benefit from simplified logistics and lower documentation overheads.
