Visa policy of Kuwait
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Under normal circumstances, visitors to Kuwait must obtain a visa unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or countries eligible for visa on arrival/eVisa.[1] All visitors (except Gulf Cooperation Council citizens) must hold a passport valid for 6 months. Kuwait is home to foreign nationals from over 100 countries. Foreign nationals account for 70% of Kuwait's total population. [citation needed]
Visa policy map
Visa exemption
Citizens of the following countries do not require a visa to visit Kuwait and may use national ID Cards to enter the country:
As of February 2020 and until further notice, this policy has been amended so that the national ID cards are no longer valid to enter Kuwait as a prevention of the coronavirus.[2]
Nationals of China holding normal passports endorsed for public affairs do not require a visa.
Holders of diplomatic or official passports of Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Cyprus, China, Egypt, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ireland, Malta, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Vietnam and just diplomatic passports of Armenia, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Iraq, Mexico, Poland, Spain and Uzbekistan[3] also do not require a visa. An agreement with Djibouti was signed in July 2019 and it is yet to be ratified.[4]
Visa on arrival/eVisa
Citizens of the following 54 countries and territories may obtain a visa valid for 3 months on arrival to Kuwait if arriving by air or they may obtain an eVisa before arrival:[5]
A visa can also be obtained on arrival valid for one month for those holding a confirmation from a transporting carrier and are travelling for tourism purposes.
Passengers arriving by sea or land must obtain visa in advance.[7]
Residents of GCC countries belonging to designated professions may also obtain a visa online.
Entry prohibited
Israeli nationals are banned from entering Kuwait.[8]
Regulations
In recent decades, Kuwait has enacted certain measures to regulate the issuance of new visas for foreign labor. For instance, workers from Georgia and Morocco are subject to heightened scrutiny when applying for entry visas, and an outright ban was imposed on the entry of domestic workers from Guinea-Bissau and Vietnam.[9] Workers from Bangladesh and Pakistan are also scrutinized when applying for new visas.[10] In April 2019, Kuwait added Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the list of restricted countries. According to Migrant Rights, the visa restrictions are put in place mainly due to the fact that these countries lack embassies and labour corporations in Kuwait.[11] A visa restriction on nationals of Ethiopia was lifted in 2018.[12][13]
After President of the United States Donald Trump's Executive Order 13769, which banned the entry of nationals from Afghanistan, Sudan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Syria, and Yemen into the United States, several Western news sites published stories claiming a similar visa ban in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied that they currently ban nationals from those countries from entering Kuwait.[14][15][16][17]
From 31 January 2020, Kuwait has temporarily banned the admission to all China ordinary passport holders, including Hong Kong SAR passport holders, because of the severe spreading of SARS-CoV-2 in China. Citizens of other countries who have entered China and Hong Kong in the last 2 weeks are also refused entry.[18]
See also
References
- ^ "Visa and passport". Timatic. International Air Transport Association through Emirates. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ "Kuwait places restriction on entry of Gulf citizens". Aa.com.tr. 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
- ^ "08.02.2017. О безвизовых поездках владельцев дипломатических паспортов".
- ^ Forgot Username or Password (2019-07-17). "Kuwait, Djibouti sign visa exemption agreement". Menafn.Com. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
- ^ "Visa and passport". Timatic. International Air Transport Association through Emirates. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ "Home". passportindex.org.
- ^ "Entry requirements - Kuwait travel advice - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
- ^ www.timaticweb.com https://web.archive.org/web/20170311225215/https://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=IL&AR=00&PASSTYPES=PASS&DE=KW&user=KLMB2C&subuser=KLMB2C. Archived from the original on 2017-03-11.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Citing Security Concerns, Kuwait Bans Entry to These Nationalities". Al Bawaba. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "Kuwait Re-Activates Ban on Bangladeshi Workers". Al Bawaba. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ^ "70% of domestic workers in Kuwait have expired contracts".
- ^ "No Ethiopians to Kuwait - Kuwait Times". Kuwait Times. 2014-09-13. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
- ^ "Kuwait lifts Ethiopian domestic worker ban". GulfNews. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
- ^ "Kuwait knocks down bogus claim following Trump's latest misstep". MSNBC. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
- ^ "KUNA : Kuwait denies reports entry visa ban of certain nationalities - Politics - 03/02/2017". www.kuna.net.kw. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
- ^ ""سبوتنيك" الروسية: الكويت سبقت ترامب في منع دخول 5 جنسيات". Retrieved 2018-03-19.
- ^ "Visa for Pakistani Family - No ban only "restrictions" - ARAB TIMES". ARAB TIMES. 2016-07-06. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
- ^ Hong Kong and Chinese nationals banned from entering Kuwait - GDN Online
External links
- List of countries whose citizens can obtain Visas upon arrival at all Kuwaiti ports of entry, Embassy of the State of Kuwait - Washington, DC
- Visa Requirements for GCC Residents
- Kuwait Visa Status Check Online