Five southern African countries are planning to introduce a single visa to facilitate the movement of tourists in the region. The Persian Gulf states also announced similar plans. Find out which countries can be visited under the simplified system and the specifics of the permit procedure

Five African countries - Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe - have announced plans to introduce a single tourist visa. The permit will work according to the Schengen visa principle - tourists will be able to enter these five countries for a short period of time without the need to obtain documents from each of the states. The countries of the Persian Gulf are also considering a similar decision.

How will the new visa affect tourism in Africa and Asia? We have collected all the information that is currently known about the single visa to the countries of southern Africa and the Persian Gulf in our new article.

The only visa to the countries of southern Africa - what is known?

Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe agreed to facilitate the movement of foreign travelers on their territory. After the change in migration legislation, tourists will not need to issue documents for travel to each of the states.

Zambia and Zimbabwe already have a so-called "single visa" that allows its holders to enter the two countries on the basis of a single document. Also, the permit is the basis for a short-term stay in Botswana.

However, in order to make travel in the region as convenient as possible for tourists, it is planned that Angola and Namibia will soon join the "single visa".

How will the "single visa" affect the development of tourism in southern Africa?

The main goal of introducing a single visa is to attract the maximum number of visitors and develop tourism in the region, because the industry is a priority in the economy of these countries.

Simplifying migration laws will make states more attractive, as tourists will not have to worry about opening multiple permits when organizing a trip to the region.

Also, travelers will be able to explore more countries during one vacation.

A single visa may also soon work in the Persian Gulf countries

In addition to the countries of southern Africa, representatives of the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Persian Gulf - UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait - spoke about the intention to introduce a single visa.

The GCC countries decided to call their single visa “GCC Grand Tours”. It will work according to the Schengen principle. That is, if a foreigner receives a visa to one of the Persian Gulf countries, he will be able to enter the others without the need to apply for a separate visa.

On the basis of a visa, travelers will be able to stay on the territory of the Persian Gulf countries for more than 30 days without going through any other procedures.

The local authorities believe that this visa will help the countries of the region to become a more popular destination and attract more tourists.

States in various regions of the world are simplifying their migration laws to attract the maximum number of tourists. Therefore, we can safely assume that very soon new interesting destinations will appear on the tourist map of the world.

As a reminder, read about the basic rules for traveling to Africa here. Employment rules in Qatar in 2024 in this article.

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