travel

Saudi business visa rejections rise as scrutiny tightens

Riyadh is tightening scrutiny of business visas used mainly by UAE-based professionals travelling into Saudi Arabia, disrupting a decades-long practice that has let companies run projects in the kingdom without staff relocation.

There are no official figures on rejections, but immigration advisers and executives say they have seen more applications returned or refused in recent weeks, particularly for technical specialists and frequent visitors.

The “fly-in fly-out model”, as it is occasionally called, typically involves the misuse of a visa meant as a short-term permit for meetings and relationship-building, not revenue-generating work. Specialists say such misapplication has triggered the clampdown.

Abeer Husseini, a partner at global immigration law practice Fragomen, told AGBI there has been “scaled” misuse of business visas that are not intended for productive work.

“Based on our recent experience, we are seeing a higher possibility for business visa applications to be returned in certain scenarios,” Husseini said.

Abdulrahman Alfahad, a client relationship manager at Sovereign PPG Corporate Services in Saudi Arabia, said companies have relied on repeated business visits for individuals carrying out day-to-day operational roles, “which goes beyond the intended scope of a business visit visa”.

“Authorities are paying closer attention to travel frequency, length of stay and the nature of activities undertaken, particularly where patterns resemble full-time employment,” Alfahad said.

He said the impact is being felt mostly by consulting, professional services and project-based sectors, as well as regional headquarters structures where staff frequently travel in and out of the kingdom.

More than 10 UAE-based professionals at companies across banking, law and management consulting told AGBI their business trips to Saudi Arabia have been cancelled or delayed in recent months, though previously they had been entering and leaving the country nearly every week.

Immigration experts said the stricter outcomes reflect Saudi Arabia’s broader drive to support labour-market policies and a shift toward international standards.

“Saudi is clearly moving towards international best practice by drawing a firmer distinction between permissible business activities and work that requires employment authorisation,” Alfahad said.

Saudi Arabia has been pushing companies to build onshore capacity under Vision 2030 and meet Saudisation requirements – rules that require companies to employ a set proportion of nationals.

In 2024, it required businesses to base their regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia to qualify for government contracts.

Many multinationals that have long run operations out of Dubai have moved to meet Riyadh’s requirements, drawn by the scale of business in Saudi Arabia, which has the Gulf’s largest population.

But an HR executive, who declined to be identified, told AGBI that while companies have set up headquarters in Saudi Arabia, staffing is kept to a minimum – both to limit Saudisation quotas, which increase with each expatriate hire, and because employees are unwilling to relocate.

“Misuse of business visas can distort workforce reporting, and stricter enforcement supports more accurate Saudisation compliance and localisation objectives,” Alfahad said.

Ahmed Hassounah, managing director at Job Borsa, a Saudi recruitment services company that helps businesses comply with localisation requirements, said the goal is enforcement, not disruption for businesses already operating in Saudi Arabia.

“What the government is really focused on is ensuring that citizens and employees are trained and actively participating in the market,” Hassounah said.

AGBI

travel

Riyadh airport starts biggest overhaul in 40 years

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has begun implementing its largest operational transformation since opening more than 40 years ago, marking the first comprehensive overhaul of airline operations across its terminals. The phased redistribution came into effect today.

Under the “Terminal Transition” project, managed by Riyadh Airports Company, terminal allocations are being reorganised to enhance operational efficiency and improve passenger flow at the Saudi capital’s main gateway.

From today, Terminals 1 and 2 are designated for international flights operated by Saudi national carriers. From February 24, Terminal 4 will serve domestic flights for national airlines.

Beginning February 25, Terminal 5 will handle international flights operated by foreign carriers. On the same day, operations at Terminal 3 will be merged with Terminal 4 to accommodate domestic services of national carriers.

The move forms part of wider efforts to streamline airport operations and support rising passenger volumes in line with the Kingdom’s aviation growth strategy.

travel

Win free flight tickets inside Fortnite

Qatar’s national carrier has launched its first-ever digital destination inside the popular online game Fortnite, giving gamers a new way to explore Doha and the airline’s onboard experience even before ever booking a flight.

Called ‘QVerse Island’, the virtual destination recreates key Doha landmarks and begins inside a digital version of Hamad International Airport.

Players start their journey there before moving through different parts of the island, including locations inspired by the city and the airport’s indoor garden, The Orchard.

The experience is guided by Sama, Qatar Airways’ digital cabin crew, who leads players through a series of mission-based challenges.

Golden tickets

Along the way, players can explore hidden areas across the island to uncover “golden tickets”, which unlock the chance to win Qatar Airways travel rewards and flights.

Qatar Airways said the idea behind QVerse Island is to reach travellers earlier in their decision-making journey, especially younger audiences who spend time on gaming and social platforms.

Travel intent is increasingly shaped through various digital channels, including social media platforms and immersive gaming environments. Qatar Airways, through the QVerse Island, is extending its presence to such ecosystems to actively engage with travellers long before they search for their next journey.

By placing Doha inside Fortnite, the airline is linking virtual exploration with real-world travel incentives, turning gameplay into a pathway towards future trips.

Digital aviation ecosystem

Sama already plays a central role across Qatar Airways’ digital platforms, including its existing QVerse web experience and brand storytelling campaigns. Her appearance in Fortnite extends that digital identity into gaming, positioning her as a familiar guide across multiple online environments.

The launch of QVerse Island also ties into Qatar Airways’ wider digital push, including its rollout of Starlink in-flight connectivity.

The airline currently operates more than 120 Starlink-enabled aircraft, offering high-speed Wi-Fi of up to 500 Mbps on selected routes.

Passengers on Starlink-equipped flights can access faster-than-home Wi-Fi across an increasing number of destinations in the Americas, Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, although aircraft may change due to operational requirements.

Together, QVerse Island, Sama, and Starlink highlight how airlines are experimenting with new ways to stay visible to travellers long before they arrive at the airport — starting not with a boarding pass, but with a game controller.

travel

Single visa to reshape Gulf travel and security

The forthcoming Unified GCC Tourist Visa represents one of the most concrete steps yet toward functional regional integration in the Gulf. While often compared to Europe’s Schengen system, the initiative is best understood as a targeted response to a long-standing structural problem: bureaucratic fragmentation that discourages multi-country travel in a region that increasingly markets itself as interconnected.

Under the new framework, visitors would apply once through a unified digital platform and gain access to all six GCC states, namely the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait, on a single short-stay visa. Current planning points to a 30-day validity period, with a projected fee in the range of $90–130. The intent is to facilitate multi-destination itineraries that have so far been constrained by separate national visa regimes.

This shift aligns directly with the region’s economic diversification strategies, where tourism has emerged as a critical non-oil growth sector. By lowering administrative barriers, the GCC is effectively repositioning itself as a single interlinked tourism space, rather than six adjacent but disconnected markets.

Why the launch has taken time

The repeated postponements of the unified visa’s rollout reflect not a lack of political commitment, but the complexity of aligning security governance across six sovereign states. A system that permits region-wide movement after a single-entry screening requires a high degree of trust among participating authorities.

This trust is built through technical integration: shared biometric databases, interoperable entry-exit systems, and a unified regional watchlist or “blacklist.” Without these mechanisms, mutual recognition of visa decisions would expose member states to security blind spots. The unified visa is therefore as much a security infrastructure project as it is a tourism initiative.

A Schengen-inspired but distinct model

Comparisons with Europe’s Schengen area are inevitable, but the differences are instructive. Schengen spans 29 countries, largely abolishes internal border checks, and is embedded within the European Union’s broader framework of freedom of movement. The GCC model is narrower in scope and more conservative by design.

Physical border controls will remain in place, and the unified visa does not confer rights to work, reside, or settle. It does not harmonise labour markets or immigration law. Instead, it focuses on short-term mobility for tourism and related activities. In this sense, it is a mobility facilitation tool, not a political integration project.

Compliance, overstay penalties, and regional security

One of the most consequential, though less visible, features of the unified visa is its enforcement architecture. Overstay violations are expected to trigger harmonised and escalating penalties, including daily fines, possible travel bans, and automatic flagging across GCC-wide databases.

This approach strengthens regional security in several ways. First, it eliminates jurisdictional loopholes. Under current arrangements, an individual who overstays or violates visa conditions in one Gulf state may still be able to enter another. Under the unified system, a violation in one country would be visible to all six, ensuring consistent enforcement.

Second, shared data improves risk assessment. For example, if a visitor enters through Dubai, overstays in one member state, and attempts to re-enter the region at a later date through another entry point, the unified database would immediately flag the prior violation. This not only deters abuse but also enhances early identification of individuals who may pose broader security or compliance risks.

In this sense, the unified visa expands mobility while simultaneously tightening accountability, a balance that is central to modern border governance.

Implications for the UAE and the wider GCC

For the UAE, the unified visa reinforces its position as the region’s primary aviation and mobility gateway. Given its airline networks and infrastructure, it is likely to serve as a principal entry point where initial biometric and security screening is conducted on behalf of the wider bloc. This elevates the UAE’s strategic role but also underscores the need for sustained investment in border management technologies.

For residents and expatriates across the GCC, the visa promises a meaningful improvement in regional mobility, replacing fragmented national procedures with a single, predictable framework. For the region as a whole, it operationalises long-standing ambitions to translate political coordination into tangible economic and social outcomes.

A measured but meaningful step forward

The Unified GCC Visa is not a Middle Eastern Schengen, nor is it intended to be. Its importance lies in its pragmatism. By reducing bureaucratic friction, aligning tourism ambitions, and embedding mobility within a shared security framework, the GCC is taking a measured but significant step toward deeper functional integration.

If implemented effectively, the unified visa could become one of the most visible manifestations of Gulf cooperation, experienced not through policy declarations, but through smoother travel, longer stays, stronger compliance, and a region that increasingly functions as a coherent and competitive destination.