What is GCC’s ‘one-stop’ travel? UAE and Bahrain to pilot single checkpoint system this year

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has approved the first phase of the ‘one-stop’ travel  system, which will allow Gulf nationals to complete all travel and immigration checks at one point. The pilot of the programme will be held between the UAE and Bahrain this year.

Under the programme, citizens of GCC member states—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—will complete passport control and security screening at a  single checkpoint before departure, according to Gulf News. This joint border/identity  and security clearance process will let passengers avoid immigration formalities at the second point, much like domestic travel. This means they can land at their destination, collect their baggage, and leave the airport without delay.

That is, a passenger starting his journey at Qatar or Kuwait can undergo the immigration and security procedures in that country and arrive in the UAE without additional screening in the second country. This will help make air travel easy, improve passenger flow, and standardise border processing across the bloc.

However, officials have not clarified if eligibility will expand to resident expatriates in later phases. It is expected that there will be dedicated lanes, gates, or signage at airports for the one-stop system. Those details are expected to be announced later.

Though the system is applicable to Bahrain in the first phase, it will be expanded later after the successful completion of the pilot project. The GCC Secretariat says the model will be expanded to all six member states.

This comes close to the GCC launching a Schengen-style Unified GCC Visa, which will enable residents of one country to travel across all GCC countries with a single visa. The Unified Visa is expected to be launched in 2026. 

Middle East