Now GCC and UAE nationals can travel using ID cards

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The UAE announced that its citizens can enter any countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council by using their Emirates ID cards. The decision took effect on April 29, 2022.

The move was taken to facilitate smooth travel between the countries of the GCC, and in support of sustainable recovery efforts, the National Authority for Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management said.

The authorities also said that GCC nationals can also use their respective country’s ID cards to travel to the UAE.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia announced that using of the national identity card to travel to and from the Kingdom for citizens of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf would be allowed.

A statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) read, "The General Directorate of Passports announced lifting the suspension of using the national identity card to travel to and from the Kingdom for citizens and citizens of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf."

The authorities said that citizens can travel to the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf using the national identity card, while making sure of the entry requirements for the country to which they want to travel, stressing that the family record card is not a document that can be traveled with.