Soon, GCC citizens should be allowed to travel to Saudi for business or pleasure, and even umrah without a visa.
Saudi is about to introduce a visa-free travel system for all GCC nationals with a valid residency and work visa issued by the immigration authorities of the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, according to a report released by the business news portal Trends.
Sources from Saudi’s the Ministry of Tourism said that the draft law for the new scheme is completed and will be formally unveiled in the coming days.
For other visa categories, such as the ones for maids and construction workers, there may be some exceptions, the article claims. Professionals, white-collar employees, and other citizens with steady employment will probably be able to enter Saudi Arabia without a visa.
Ahmed Al Khateeb, the tourism minister of Saudi, revealed last week during a TV interview that the Kingdom will soon launch a new visa program for citizens of the GCC.
Al Khateeb emphasized that there were no particular restrictions for visitors coming for tourism and that the Kingdom’s 2019 launch of tourist visas were still in effect.