Uk Embassy Continues To Provide Visa Services To Kuwaitis, Expats

According to an official source at the British Embassy in Kuwait, the embassy continues to provide visa services to citizens and expatriates, and the visa center located in the Al-Raya Tower continues to receive applications for visas of all kinds for those wishing to travel to British territory, reports Al-Qabas daily. In a press statement, the source explained that citizens of Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are exempted from applying through the visa center. They can submit visa applications electronically, provided they are submitted at least 48 hours before their trip to the United Kingdom. These applicants must fill out the form and pay the fees online. The visa, which would be sent to the email address used for submitting the application, has to be printed out.

Exemption
The online exemption of the visa can be obtained instead of the United Kingdom visa if the applicant is a citizen of Kuwait, Oman, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates. Online visa exemption allows people to visit the United Kingdom for a period of up to six months for tourism, business, short-term study or treatment purposes. Online visa exemption is valid for single entry, and cannot be used for the purpose of work or a civil marriage contract, also, a separate application must be submitted online for each person traveling, including children. To obtain the exemption, the applicant will only need to fill out the online form without the need to visit the visa application center. He must make sure that he has his current passport and the address of his residence in the United Kingdom as well as the details of his flight to and from the United Kingdom (including the dates and times of departure and arrival, and the number of the flight to the United Kingdom and not the flight number in the country of origin for transit travelers). He must carry the online visa exemption when traveling, and pay a non-refundable fee of £30, payable by debit or credit card. The source went on to explain that Kuwait’s epidemiological classification has not changed since the start of the pandemic, as it falls in the yellow list.

Therefore, travelers, including the citizens of the United Kingdom, are required to show a negative result for the PCR test, which must be issued within a maximum period of 72 hours before the date of departure. Upon arrival, a second test will be taken within a maximum period of two days, followed by another one on the eighth day. The source said, “Most travelers must fill out a form to determine the public health sites for passengers and adhere to a ten-day quarantine.” He stressed that all travelers coming from the yellow list of countries including Kuwait are allowed to adhere to home quarantine or quarantine in the place of their residence, adding that they have the option to reduce the quarantine period to five days only if the PCR test result is negative on the fifth day. The source said, “Passengers will have to pay the costs of the tests and book the test appointment themselves in any of the government- approved health facilities. Most travelers must fill out a form of locating public health sites for passengers within 48 hours of the date of arrival”. He warned of the punishment for violating the quarantine procedures, revealing, “In the event that false or misleading information is provided intentionally, the passenger may be fined or imprisoned. A fine of up to 10,000 pounds and/or imprisonment for a period of up to ten years may be imposed

Proving
If the passenger arrives in England without proving that his PCR test is negative, he may be fined 500 pounds. If he does not take the PCR test after the second and eighth days, he may face a fine of up to 2,000 pounds. Also, he may not need to take the second test if he tests positive in the first test.” The source indicated that the new system of testing and tracking established by the National Health Services Authority will be informed to the traveler upon arrival to ensure that he adheres to the rules of isolation during quarantine.

 

SOURCE  ARABTIMES

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