Passport holders of the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman will no longer need a visa to travel to the UK starting from next year.
The UK government has said on its website that the country’s first ever electronic visa waiver scheme will be launched early next year “to make it cheaper and easier for business travelers and tourists to visit the UK from Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.”
The new electronic visa waiver (EVW) will be available online free of charge and can be obtained by travelers up to 48 hours before departure. They will no longer need to provide biometric data, attend an appointment at a visa application center or hand in passports prior to travel.
The waiver applies to visit, business or tourist visas of up to six months of stay. Students planning to go the UK for work or study will still need to apply for visas in the normal way.
“I am very pleased that the British government is enabling easier access to the UK for Emiratis,” said Dominic Jermey, British ambassador to the UAE, according to the Abu Dhabi-based The National.
