Single GCC visa urged

A senior Swiss official has called on the GCC to introduce a Schengen-type visa system to facilitate visits from foreign businesspeople and investors.
Addressing the GCC-Swiss Forum in Geneva this week, Erwin Bollinger, deputy head of foreign economic relations, said the move would help save a lot of time and energy.
“The situation now is that if a Swiss businessman wants to visit GCC states, which are all located in the Gulf region, he has to visit embassies of these countries to get visas,” he said.
He said it would be easy for GCC states to adopt the Schengen visa system.
The Schengen system allows travel between its 25 member countries (22 European Union states and three non-EU members), making movement “much easier and less bureaucratic.”