Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali Al-Harthi, Undersecretary of the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Diplomatic Affairs, discussed the exemption of Omanis from the “Schengen” visa with Dimitri Giotax, Head of Visa Policy at the General Authority for Immigration and Internal Affairs of the European Commission.
The Schengen Area is an area comprising 26 European countries that have officially abolished all passports and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. The area mostly functions as a single jurisdiction for international travel purposes, with a common visa policy.
On April 27, The European Commission proposed to exempt residents of Kuwait and Qatar from the European Union (EU)’s short-term visa requirements, citing the two countries as “key partners of the EU.”
If the agreement goes into effect, any Qatari and Kuwaiti citizen with a biometric passport will be able to travel to the EU without a visa for up to 90 days for tourism or family purposes.
Those who wish to travel will be permitted to enter one of the Schengen states and free travel within the Schengen area, with the possibility of making a single or multiple visits.
Travel to some EU member states (excluding Ireland) and the four Schengen countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland) is also allowed.
