According to a UAE minister, the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is considering a single visa system that will permit residents to travel freely between member states.

The UAE Minister of Economy, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, told Bloomberg that the regime could be implemented "very soon".

Currently, only citizens of GCC countries can travel visa-free to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar that make up the bloc. In these countries, expatriates must apply for a visa to travel to each member state, with some nationalities gaining visa-free or visa-on-arrival privileges.

In his speech to the Future Hospitality Summit in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Al Marri discussed the pan-GCC single visa.

Bahrain's tourism minister announced earlier this year that tourists would be able to obtain "Schengen-style" visas across the GCC.

Fatima Al Sairafi said ministerial-level discussions are underway to implement the unified visa. She said the system would be launched “very soon”.

In a speech to the same panel, a UAE Ministry of Economy official had stated that the system would allow tourists to visit multiple countries without any restrictions.