Passports out, ID cards will do for travel between Saudi Arabia, UAE

4 May, 2007

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed an agreement to permit their citizens to travel between the two countries with just ID cards instead of passports.

The agreement, signed on May 1, 2007, will take effect within 30 days.

The accord, said Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), would contribute to strengthen the bond between the Gulf nationals and will simplify travel between the two countries. The pact is expected to integrate further the economy, trade exchange and tourist activities, besides increasing social and cultural relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The agreement was signed at Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry by Major-General Mohammed Salim Al Khaily, Director of the Immigration and Naturalisation Department, and Major-General Salim bin Fahd Al Belaihid, Director-General of Saudi Arabia’s immigration.

All six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council have agreed that citizens will not need a passport when traveling between member-countries and, instead, they will use a smart card ID.

According to the regulations of the Gulf Cooperation Council, citizens of all GCC countries are allowed to travel freely between member-states. They are also entitled to receive the same benefits as nationals of the country when applying for jobs in any GCC state.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, has decided to set up a common market in 2007 itself and launch a monetary union and a single currency by early 2010.

The Gulf Arab states had established a customs union in 2003, but had decided in 2005 to delay its full implementation for two years to the end of 2007.