The countries of the Persian Gulf are considering the possibility of creating a single visa area, similar to the Schengen area. This is reported by the publication Arabian Business.
Representatives of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which are members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), discussed such an initiative at the international tourism exhibition Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
“The availability of travel in the Gulf countries will positively affect the development of the tourism industry, and the traveler will not have to face restrictions when crossing borders”, - said Fahd Hamidaddin, director of the Saudi Arabian Tourism Authority.
The GCC includes Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia. To visit these countries, citizens of Turkmenistan need a visa.
In 2020, Oman opened visa-free entry for tourists from Turkmenistan. True, this opportunity can only be used if they are residents or have entry visas to the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, the associated Schengen countries or Japan.
A visa to the UAE for citizens of Turkmenistan has an electronic format and is issued on the basis of an invitation issued by an authorized partner of Turkmen travel companies in the UAE.
