Kuwait Announces New Visa Durations: 1 Month For Family And 3 Months For Tourists

The Residency Affairs departments in all six governorates witnessed an influx of expatriates seeking to apply for either family, commercial or tourist visit visas following the announcement made by the ministry about the resumption of issuance of these visas under new conditions based on instructions from the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Acting Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef.

These conditions stipulate the following:-

- The applicant’s monthly salary should not be less than KD 400 in order to apply for visas for parents, wife, and children, and not less than KD 800 for relatives.

- The specified duration of the visit should be adhered to

- A round-trip flight ticket must be booked on national airlines.

- Requests to convert the visit visas into residence permits will not be accepted.

Wednesday morning, Al-Seyassah toured a number of Residence Affairs departments, and discovered that the number of applicants in Jahra Governorate was less compared to Farwaniya and Hawally governorates.

The Hawally Residence Affairs Department witnessed large numbers of expatriates, some of whom came without a prior appointment and were sent back. The “Mata” app has nearly 150 visitors daily in each department.

Also, Farwaniya Governorate witnessed a large number of expatriates, but those who did not have a prior appointment were sent back. They were asked to visit the Mata application, as the process for applying through the application requires printing the form, attaching the required papers and documents, and then submitting to the department.

According to security sources, the Residency Affairs departments received an estimated 900 transactions yesterday morning in all the Residence Affairs departments. The applicant’s data are extracted, and reviewed to verify their compliance with the set conditions.

They stressed the need for obtaining an appointment via the Mata app to carry out the transaction so as to organize the reception of expatriates with ease and avoid crowding, as well as the need for providing a round-trip flight ticket within a month along with all the documents required to submit the application.

The sources indicated that a decision has not yet been made regarding receiving the transactions of expatriates with banned nationalities.

They revealed that a family visit visa is valid for one month and a tourist visit visa is valid for three months, adding that applications are submitted through the website of the Ministry of Interior.

It is worth highlighting that the Ministry of Interior had earlier announced in a press statement the conditions to be met for applying for visit visas. They are:-

- The applicant’s salary must not be less than KD 400 in order to bring in first-degree relatives (wife, children, and parents), and not be less than KD 800 to apply for a visit visa for the rest of the relatives.

- It is required to provide a round-trip flight ticket of the national airlines (the national carrier) and submit a written pledge not to request for conversion of visit visa to residence permit in the country.

- The visitors must adhere to the duration of the visit visa.

- Medical treatments for visitors will be provided in hospitals and private health centers but they will not receive medical treatment in government hospitals if they violate the period of stay. In such cases, both the visitor and the sponsor will be included in the security control system by the Directorate General of Residency Affairs Investigations. The violator will be followed up by the Directorate General of Residency Affairs Investigations and the legal procedures followed for violators of the foreigners’ residency law will be applied against him.

- Commercial entry visa will be issued upon a request submitted by Kuwaiti companies or institutions, and granted to those holding university or technical qualifications and in a manner commensurating with the company’s activity and the nature of its work.

- Tourist visas will be issued to people belonging to 53 countries, either directly from the port of entry upon arrival in the country or through an electronic visa by visiting the Ministry of Interior’s website – www.moi.gov.kw, and for residents of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

- Tourist visas will be issued to people with professions specified in ministerial Resolution No. 2030/2008 and its amendments, and in accordance with the controls and requirements specified in the aforementioned ministerial resolution, via hotels and companies that have an automated interface with the Directorate General of Residence Affairs system in accordance with the applicable requirements for that purpose.

The Ministry of Interior affirmed in its statement that the latest decision was issued based on a desire to stimulate the commercial, economic and tourism movement in the country, taking into account the social aspects, most notably the family visit visa granted to parents, wife and children of the residents.

By Munaif Naif

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff

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