Kuwait Moves Closer to Visa-Free Travel in Europe’s Schengen Zone

Imagine booking a weekend in Paris or Rome the way you’d book a trip to Dubai – no visa appointment, no stack of paperwork, no waiting weeks for an embassy decision. For Kuwaitis, that’s still not reality. But it might be getting closer.

Jasem Mohamed Al Budaiwi, the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, says Kuwait is one of five Gulf countries now “very close” to starting the process that could eventually remove Schengen visa requirements altogether. He made the comment on Arab Views, a programme produced by Arab News, ahead of a major Gulf-Europe summit later this month.

It’s not a done deal yet. But it’s the clearest signal so far that things are moving.

So what did Al Budaiwi actually say?

Speaking on the programme, Al Budaiwi said: “We are very close to reaching the beginning of the process to waive the Schengen visa for GCC citizens, for the five countries, the five remaining countries.” He added that he expects “something positive” to come out of the summit.

That’s an important distinction to hold onto. He’s talking about the start of a process, not an immediate green light for visa-free travel. Starting the process and finishing it are two very different things, and anyone who’s dealt with EU paperwork knows these things rarely move fast.

The summit itself – the second GCC-EU summit – is scheduled for 24 October in Riyadh, and is expected to cover a range of issues beyond travel. Whether a concrete announcement on Schengen visas comes out of that meeting is something we’ll only know once it happens.

Why is the UAE already visa-free and Kuwait isn’t?

This is probably the question most Kuwait residents have been asking for years. The UAE and the EU signed a visa-waiver agreement back in May 2015, letting eligible UAE travellers stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days within any 180-day period, without applying for a visa at all.

The other five Gulf states – Kuwait included – never got that same deal. Instead, the EU has been loosening the rules gradually rather than scrapping them outright.

Since April 2024, citizens of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman have been eligible for five-year multiple-entry Schengen visas, following decisions adopted by the European Commission. Kuwaiti and Qatari citizens have had similar multiple-entry benefits since 2023.

Here’s the catch, though: a multiple-entry visa is still a visa. You still have to apply, submit documents, and meet all the usual Schengen requirements before you travel – it just means once you’re approved, you don’t need to reapply for every trip for up to five years. A full exemption would remove the application step entirely for short stays, the same way UAE citizens already enjoy.

Where does the actual EU paperwork stand?

Back in 2022, the European Commission proposed moving Kuwait and Qatar onto the EU’s list of countries exempt from short-stay visas. That proposal is still sitting in the EU’s legislative pipeline – the European Parliament currently lists it as awaiting its position at first reading, meaning it hasn’t gone through the full process yet.

Interestingly, the European Parliament committee reviewing the measure later recommended extending the same visa-free treatment to Oman, even though the original 2022 proposal only named Kuwait and Qatar. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain weren’t part of that specific 2022 proposal at all, which makes Al Budaiwi’s comment about