Category Archives: Visa

It was announced by His Excellency Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council that GCC states have unanimously approved a Schengen style GCC tourism visa, at a meeting of regional interior minsters at the GCC summit in Muscat, Oman on November 8 According to the Secretariat news, His Excellency Mr Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), stated that the unified GCC tourist visa project represents a new achievement which is added to the blessed accomplishments made by the Cooperation Council, in light of the sound directives of Their Majesties and Highnesses, the leaders of the GCC who placed close attention to the achievements of the GCC security cooperation. His Excellency’s remarks came during the 40th meeting of Their Highnesses and Excellencies the Interior Ministers of the GCC which took place under the chairmanship of His Excellency Sayyed Hamoud bin Faisal Al Busaidi, Minister of Interior of Oman and President of the current session, in the Omani capital Muscat. Present in the meeting were Their Highnesses and Excellencies the Ministers of Interior in the GCC member states. At the beginning of his speech, His Excellency the Secretary General extended the highest expressions of thanks, appreciation and gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Sultan of the Sultanate of Oman and Chairman of the current session of the GCC Supreme Council, and to the esteemed government of the Sultanate of Oman and the honourable people of the Sultanate, for their backing and tireless efforts made to support the joint GCC action to maintain the Council’s march and progress in order to achieve the lofty goals of the aspirations of the citizens …

VisitBritain and the UK Government Home Office will conduct a special webinar on Monday 13th November at 12noon (UAE time) titled, “Visit Britain with the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)”to learn more about the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) which will replace the Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW) in Qatar from October 2023 and throughout the GCC in February 2024. 2023 has been a huge year for Britain with the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, Liverpool hosting the Eurovision Song Contest, London’s luxury hotel boom and a year-round calendar bursting with festivals and events. 2024 is set to be another GREAT year in Britain – from innovative cutting-edge entertainment venues and world-class sporting events to wellness retreats and luxury hotels, there’s never been a more exciting time to discover Britain’s vibrant cities and lush. countryside. Travelling to the UK is set to be even easier and more affordable for GCC nationals, with the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme. Launching for Qatari nationals in October 2023, followed by nationals of all other GCC nations and Jordan in February 2024, the new ETA will open up boundless opportunities for travellers. For a nominal fee of only £10 per applicant, the ETA grants multiple entries to the UK over two years or until the holder’s passport expires – whichever comes first. The application process is simple ensuring a seamless experience, with most applicants expected a response within days or even sooner.

In a bid to make it easier than ever before to experience the authentic home of Arabia, Saudi Arabia will grant visitor visas to travelers from six newly-eligible countries – Türkiye, Thailand, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, and Mauritius – for leisure, business, and religious (Umrah only) travel. Nationals of these countries can apply for a Saudi visitor visa ahead of their journey via the official e-visa portal at visa.visitsaudi.com. Saudi is reimagining the tourism experience, with the famously warm and generous Saudi welcome –known as Hafawah– at the heart of its plans. The visitor e-visa is valid for an entire year, grants multiple entries, and permits a stay of up to 90 days. Moreover, Visit Saudi offers an online trip planner for visitors to create custom itineraries easily. From visiting Saudi’s seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, snorkeling and diving in Saudi’s Red Sea –one of the world’s most spectacular undiscovered diving spots– wandering Taif’s world-famous Rose Gardens, shopping like a local in Riyadh’s Deira Souq, chartering the unknown on land in the lush, green Asir region and tasting Saudi’s diverse and delicious culinary scene from fragrant Arabic dishes to internationally-renowned fine dining restaurants, there is something for everyone. Since the launch of Saudi’s visitor e-visa in 2019, Saudi has eased access for millions and accelerated tourism growth on an unmatched scale. The strength of the ever-increasing demand to visit Saudi Arabia has been led by a range of visa initiatives. On September 27, 2019, the Ministry of Tourism launched the visitor visa program, targeting 49 countries, which has now increased to 63 after the addition of further six countries and special administrative regions. In 2022, Saudi extended its …

General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs Dubai in a special interview with TravelTV Middle East shared that travel agents can  now make use of the smart portal to apply and obtain approval for bulk tourist visa within a few minutes with the new system in place. Lt.Colonel Dr. Ghalib Abdullah Hassan Al Majed Al Marri, Director of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence reiterated, “the new visa issuance application which process all the entry permits through AI solutions within 3 to 10 minutes with this new system. Travel agents apply through the smart portal, the main AI system  is comparison of pictures which is a new solution which expedite the process. The good part of this new solution is that you can obtain approval for bulk visa within a few minutes instead of the earlier time period. Before, if you had 100 or 200 tourists who needed entry visa you had to send each one for approval but with this new system, travel agents can obtain approval within minutes as it becomes one application through the new system.”

Visa and Etihad Guest have renewed their exclusive cobrand deal in the UAE for another 7 years. This partnership enables Etihad Guest to further grow its’ cobrand card portfolio with key financial partners in the UAE and drive innovation in the country’s payment ecosystem. Visa’s global platform, digital first approach, and unmatched card benefits will further augment the growth of the Etihad Guest programme. As global and UAE travel trends continue to be on the rise, this partnership will further provide Etihad Guest customers with market leading customer value propositions including a secure payment product with benefits of earning miles and enjoying rewards such as global lounge access. At the same time, cardholders benefit from convenient services like concierge and insurance. Etihad boasts six banking partnerships in the UAE which are enabled through its cobrand partnership with Visa. As a result, Etihad Guest cobrand cardholders can earn rewards through everyday spending on their credit cards, making travel even more attractive. The partnership complements Etihad’s current growth journey as the airline continues to expand its network, offering Etihad Guest members an even greater choice of destinations when spending their rewards. Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer, Etihad, said: “With more than 9 million members globally, the Etihad Guest programme offers our members and guests a richly rewarding travel and lifestyle experience. As two leading and trusted global brands, we’re proud to renew our exclusive partnership with Visa, giving us further ability to enhance and evolve the Etihad Guest programme for our members in the UAE both locally and as they travel the world with Etihad. These are part of the exciting array of offerings we are adding as we further cement Etihad …

Effective until 29 February 2024, the five-month stimulus visa scheme is aimed to help reach this year’s tourism revenue target of 2.38 trillion Baht. The Royal Thai Government led by Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Srettha Thavisin has announced the temporary tourist visa exemption scheme to passport holders of the People’s Republic of China and Republic of Kazakhstan effective from 25 September 2023 to 29 February 2024, to achieve this year’s tourism revenue target of 2.38 trillion Baht. Chinese and Kazakhstani nationals will be granted a temporary visa exemption for a 30-day stay on tourism purpose in Thailand during the five-month visa exemption period.

With 3203 issued visas per 100,000 inhabitants, Kuwait has the highest number of approved visa applicants for 2022, with the visa approval rate being 93.4 per cent, while 3.2 per cent of the population obtained a Schengen Visa in 2022. Schengen Statistics reveals that approximately every 31st applicant from Kuwait received a positive answer for their application, while every 39th applicant from Qataris, which is the second nationality for the highest number of approved applications last year. More specifically, 2,556 positive applications per 100,000 people were recorded in Qatar, indicating that 2.56 per cent of the population has received a positive answer for their visa application, while the visa approval rate reached 86.95 per cent, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. The third nationality with the highest rate of visa approval per 100,000 people was Surinamese, with 2,145 issued visas. This means that every 46th Surinamese applicant was issued a visa, taking the visa approval rate to 78.7 per cent, and the share of people with approved visa applications was 2.15 per cent. The three following nationalities with the largest number of issued visas per 100,000 were Cape Verdeans, Armenians and Emiratis, with 2,097, 1,933 and 1,489 visas issued per capita, respectively. While the share of the population with approved visa applications is 2.1 per cent for Cape Verdeans, 1.93 per cent of all population in Armenia has received a positive answer on their application in 2022. In addition, 1.49 per cent of Emiratis were issued a Schengen visa last year. This means that the visa approval rate for Emiratis was 75.7 per cent, while Cape Verdeans and Armenians had 71.45 and 86.61 per cent of their applications approved. Every 47th Cape Verdean national …

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) of Dubai has announced a new entry permit for residents of GCC countries travelling to Dubai. The service is available for travellers who have a valid residency of any of the GCC states for at least a year, have no travel restrictions from entering the country, and their work and residency cards need to include the profession. “This service has been activated to issue a prior online entry permit for travellers residing in the GCC countries in order to ensure a smooth entry process into the UAE and streamline procedures,” said a GDRFA notification. The process to apply on GDRFA website are: * Log in to the smart services through (UAE Pass or username), * Select the service. * Fill in the application. * Attach documents * Pay the fees (AED250 plus Vat of 5%)   The documents required are: * The original passport, * Upon arrival, presenting the original residence permit issued by a GCC country. * A civil or labour card. The entry permits are likely to be issued within 48 hours, said the GDRFA website.    

As the UAE government is currently streamlining visa regulations by unifying fines for overstaying their visas. The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security has standardized the fine on visa overstay. Residents, tourists and visit visa holders who overstay will now pay AED 50 per day instead of the previous AED 100. The new policy ensures compliance with visa rules and encourages timely renewal. Officials request expatriates and tourists to visit the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship websites and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai to facilitate a smoother visa process.

Saudi Arabia will grant visitor e-visas to travellers from eight newly-eligible countries: Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, South Africa, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan for leisure, business and religious (Umrah only) travel. Nationals of these countries can apply for a Saudi visitor visa ahead of their journey via the official e-visa portal at visitsaudi.com/en/travel-regulations Saudi is reimaging the tourism experience, with the famously warm and generous Saudi welcome – known as Hafawah – at the heart of its plans. The visitor e-visa is valid for an entire year, grants multiple entries and permits a stay of up to 90 days. And Visit Saudi offers an online trip planner for visitors to create custom itineraries with ease. From visiting Saudi’s six UNESCO World Heritage Sites, snorkeling and diving in Saudi’s Red Sea – one of the world’s most spectacular undiscovered diving spots, wandering Taif’s world-famous Rose Gardens, shopping like a local in Riyadh’s Deira Souq, chartering the unknown on land in the lush, green Asir region and tasting Saudi’s diverse and delicious culinary scene from fragrant Arabic dishes to internationally-renowned fine dining restaurants, there is something for everyone. Since launching the e-visa program in 2019, Saudi welcomed 93.5 million visits in 2022, a 93% increase compared to 2021, resulting in a tourism spend of SAR185 billion (USD49 billion). This rapid tourism growth is due to expanding visa initiatives, which now include 57 nations and two special administrative regions, compared to the initial 49 countries at the program’s launch. In 2022, Saudi extended regulations to provide a visitor e-visa to holders of valid Schengen, United Kingdom and United States of America visas that have been used to enter those countries before arriving in Saudi …