UAE and Bahrain launch GCC Grand Tours pilot with $100 fee by Oct. 15

How the GCC visa pilot is taking shape

The Gulf Cooperation Council has confirmed a Q4 2026 pilot for GCC Grand Tours, a unified tourist visa that would let non-GCC nationals move across all six member states with one permit. The first test corridor will run between the UAE and Bahrain, with checks at Dubai International Airport and Bahrain International Airport.

The visa is modeled on Schengen-style travel and is meant for tourism, family visits and short stays. Officials say the system will rely on QR-code validation, biometric kiosks and real-time data sharing between immigration systems. A centralized online application system is expected, but there's no GCC-wide portal live yet.

Who it affects first

The pilot mainly matters for tourists and short-term visitors from outside the GCC. It should let them build multi-country itineraries without filing separate visa applications for each stop.

GCC nationals are exempt and expats with residence visas in one Gulf state are generally unaffected for regional travel. The visa doesn't cover work or labor stays and it won't start with visa-on-arrival access.

What travelers should expect next

Once the pilot goes live, applicants are expected to need a passport valid for 6 months or more, a photo, an itinerary and a return ticket. Early estimates put fees at $100 to $150, with higher prices for multi-country access and validity of 30 to 90 days.

Processing is expected to take 3 to 7 days after the system opens. Travelers should watch national immigration portals such as the UAE’s ICP and GDRFA Dubai for pilot details, then check our visa updates and country guides for destination-specific details.