EU Releases List of 5 Countries Cleared for Visa-Free Process

• The Council of the European Union formally adopted conclusions on October 19, 2026, launching the visa waiver process with five Gulf states
• Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia were each granted individual Council conclusions to begin the negotiations
• The launch of the process does not grant immediate visa-free access but marks the official start of assessments and negotiations

The Council of the European Union has taken a significant step towards visa-free travel with the Gulf region, formally adopting conclusions on 19 October 2026 that launch the visa waiver process with five Gulf states.

The five countries named in the Council's conclusions are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

All five are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the regional bloc that has maintained longstanding economic and diplomatic ties with EU member states.

Each country received a separate Council conclusion, reflecting the individual nature of the arrangements being pursued.

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What visa waiver process means for Gulf nationals

The October conclusions do not grant immediate visa-free access to European Union territory. Rather, they represent the political authorisation for formal negotiations and assessments to begin with all five nations simultaneously.

Once the process is underway, the European Commission typically evaluates each country against a set of defined criteria covering border security, document integrity, risks related to irregular migration, and considerations around public order and safety. A country must satisfy each of these requirements before the EU can move towards granting actual visa-free status, which must then be incorporated into EU law through a formal adoption process.

The decisions were published on the official document register of the Council of the EU and carry the subject matter tags MIGR, VISA, RELEX, and FRONT, confirming that the conclusions span migration, visa, border control, and external relations policy dimensions.

EU deepens ties with Gulf partners

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The move signals an intent by the European Union to broaden its engagement with Gulf partners beyond existing areas of cooperation such as trade and energy.

By launching the process with all five Gulf Cooperation Council members at once, the EU has indicated a coordinated and strategic approach to the region rather than a country-by-country bilateral arrangement.

The process now enters a phase of technical assessments, with the timeline for any eventual visa-free arrangement dependent on how quickly each of the five states satisfies the European Commission's criteria. There is no fixed deadline for the conclusion of these evaluations, and outcomes may vary across the five countries depending on individual circumstances.

Malta announces cost of its 10-year passport

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Malta had released official details on the fees and application requirements for obtaining a Maltese passport.

The standard passport, valid for 10 years, costs €70 during the off-peak period, which runs from September to March.

Source: YEN.com.gh