ix countries in this region will introduce a common visa for tourists. This decision was reached at a Council meeting involving Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman.
The common visa will be available to travelers intending to visit these countries as early as January. The full implementation of this initiative is planned by 2025.
The situation with “Arab” visas for residents of Russia in 2023 is as follows:
- You can stay in the UAE freely for up to 3 months.
- In Qatar – up to 1 month.
- Oman welcomes visa-free tourists for up to 2 weeks.
- Bahrain offers an entry permit stamp valid for up to 2 weeks. Its cost is $15.
- Saudi Arabia will not allow stay without an electronic visa, which costs 13,000 rubles.
- Traveling to Kuwait will be the most complicated: after contacting the embassy and selecting the host company, you must wait for an invitation to the country through a hotel.
The functionality of the common visa will be similar to the Schengen visa introduced in European countries. The goal of implementation is to increase tourist traffic. The authorities of the six countries intend to achieve a target of 210-220% (129 million people) in 7 years compared to 2021 (40 million arrivals). Dubai receives the highest number of tourists. From January to June, the emirate hosted approximately 9 million travelers.
