EU to Issue Five-Year Schengen Visas for Citizens of Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain
EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Announces Multiple-Entry Permits at Luxembourg Forum
The European Union has standardised Schengen visa regulations for all GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain. Their citizens are allowed to visit the bloc several times over five years.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced during the opening session of the first high-level Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation between the EU and GCC in Luxembourg. "I welcome a decision adopted by the European Commission this morning to harmonise the rules for granting multiple-entry visas for the citizens of the GCC countries," he said.
The Schengen Area includes 29 European countries, and the expansion last February included Bulgaria and Romania, eliminating all air and maritime border controls. UAE citizens do not need a visa to travel to the Schengen Area and can stay up to three months. However, Qataris are required to apply for the visa.
In another development, in 2022, the EU announced plans to offer visa-free travel to Kuwaitis and Qataris. However, a new visa "cascade" regime was unveiled for Kuwaiti only last September, allowing eligible applicants, including first-time travellers, to obtain five-year permits.
In November, Gulf countries announced plans for a unified tourist visa similar to the Schengen permit to ease travel for residents and tourists. Citizens from the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia have already been exempted from the UK's pre-entry visa requirements.