Citizens of five Gulf countries could eventually be allowed to travel to the Schengen Area for short stays without having to apply for a visa.
On October 19, 2026, the Council of the European Union adopted five sets of conclusions welcoming the European Commission’s intention to initiate visa waiver procedures with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.
The decisions mark progress in discussions between the European Union and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), although no visa exemptions have been formally approved.
Five Gulf countries could become eligible for Schengen visa-free travel
The Council’s conclusions cover the following five countries:
- Saudi Arabia: Council conclusions ST 14630/26
- Bahrain: Council conclusions ST 14621/26
- Kuwait: Council conclusions ST 14626/26
- Oman: Council conclusions ST 14627/26
- Qatar: Council conclusions ST 14629/26
The five documents, approved by the Council, use nearly identical language.
In each case, the Council welcomes the Commission’s intention to launch a visa waiver process with the country concerned, while emphasizing that the Council and EU member states must be fully involved at every stage.
Earlier, on October 5, the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), which brings together EU member states’ ambassadors, had already reviewed the conclusions and the accompanying action plans for the proposed procedures.
The goal is to determine whether the necessary conditions for lifting visa requirements can be met.
Schengen visa waivers would depend on meeting several requirements
The adoption of these conclusions does not mean that citizens of the five countries are now eligible for visa-free travel.
The Council explicitly states that the possibility of lifting visa requirements will only be considered once all previously established criteria have been fully met.
The documents adopted on October 19 do not spell out these criteria but refer to an assessment process that must be carried out with each country.
EU visa liberalization assessments generally cover several areas, including travel document security, border management, migration issues, and security cooperation.
Any eventual exemption would also require the appropriate legal decisions at the EU level.
No date has been announced for when a potential visa waiver might take effect.
Kuwait and Qatar have been part of an EU visa waiver proposal since 2022
Discussions about granting Schengen visa-free travel to Gulf countries are not new.
On April 27, 2022, the European Commission presented a proposal to waive short-stay visa requirements for citizens of Kuwait and Qatar.
The proposal sought to move both countries onto the EU’s list of visa-exempt countries, allowing their citizens to travel without a visa for stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period.
However, the legislative process launched at the time has yet to result in an actual visa exemption.
The Council’s latest conclusions now place Kuwait and Qatar alongside three other Gulf countries — Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman — as part of a broader visa waiver initiative.
UAE citizens have enjoyed Schengen visa-free travel since 2015
Of the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) already benefits from a visa waiver arrangement for short stays in the Schengen Area.
An agreement between the European Union and the UAE was signed on May 6, 2015, allowing Emirati citizens to travel visa-free for up to 90 days within any 180-day period.
If the proposed procedures with the remaining five countries are eventually completed, citizens of all six GCC member states could ultimately enjoy similar visa-free travel privileges.
This EU initiative should not, however, be confused with the proposed unified tourist visa for the six Gulf countries, which is designed to make it easier for foreign visitors to travel between countries within the region.
Schengen visas are still required for now
Until EU visa rules are formally amended, citizens of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar remain subject to Schengen visa requirements for short stays, unless they qualify for a specific exemption based on their individual circumstances.
Travelers from these countries must therefore continue to follow the existing visa application procedures.
If visa-free travel is eventually granted, citizens of the five countries would generally be required to obtain an ETIAS travel authorization once the European system becomes operational, as is the case for other visa-exempt travelers, subject to the exceptions established under EU rules.
Unlike a visa, ETIAS is an electronic travel authorization that eligible travelers will need to obtain before departure. For now, the official ETIAS website confirms that the system is not yet operational and that applications are not being accepted.
The next steps will depend on the European Commission formally launching the planned assessments, the countries concerned meeting the required criteria, and the decisions subsequently taken by EU institutions.
VisasNews Take
The European Union has confirmed its willingness to consider lifting Schengen visa requirements for the five Gulf countries that do not yet benefit from visa-free travel. The conclusions adopted on October 19, 2026, establish a framework for the process but offer no guarantee of an exemption or any timeline for its implementation. For travelers, nothing changes immediately: visas will remain mandatory until any future exemption is formally adopted and takes effect. In the longer term, citizens of the countries concerned could be allowed to travel visa-free but would generally need an ETIAS authorization once the system becomes operational.
