A common visa will be available to travelers intending to visit these countries in January. It is planned to fully implement this intention 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 for up to 1 month;
- Oman welcomes visa-free tourists for up to 2 weeks;
- Bahrain offers a permit stamp for entry into the country, valid for up to 2 weeks. Its cost is $15.
- Saudi Arabia will not allow a stay on its territory without an electronic visa of 13 thousand rubles;
- a trip to Kuwait will be the most difficult: after contacting the embassy and choosing the host company, you must expect an invitation to the country through the hotel.
It will become much easier to travel to these countries with a common visa.
Recall that the most loyal for Russians in terms of visa-free travel are Thailand for up to 90 days of stay, Vietnam for up to 45 days and Angola, for a trip to which a visa is not required from Russia.
As for the Persian Gulf countries, today there is a simplified regime in these countries for citizens of the Russian Federation. At the same time, to visit Saudi Arabia, it is required to collect documents for obtaining electronic visas. The percentage of their issuance for Russians is 99%. It is much easier to come to Oman or Qatar than to Saudi Arabia.
The functionality of the common visa will be similar to the Schengen visa introduced in European countries. The purpose of the introduction is to increase the tourist flow. The authorities of the six countries intend to reach the figure of 210-220% (129 million people) in 7 years compared to 2021 (40 million arrivals). The largest number of tourists visits Dubai. So, from January to June, the emirate received about 9 million travelers.
