Documentation required to enter Kuwait

The movement of foreigners is tightly controlled in Kuwait, and issuing of visas and other permits is subject to strict bureaucratic procedures.

Those who are denied access therefore have little opportunity for appeal. Fortunately, the average expatriate doesn’t need to deal with much of the bureaucracy. Most companies and institutions, large or small, have a ‘fixer’, whose job is to wade through the red tape generated by the various ministerial departments in order to obtain work and residence visas for foreign workers and their families. The fixer will also act as your guide whenever your presence is required.

The documents required to enter Kuwait include the following:

• a passport valid for at least six months (it’s useful to have at least three or four  photocopies);
• at least six passport-size photographs;
• a marriage certificate (if applicable);
• birth certificates for all family members;
• a medical certificate in the case of workers.

Note that foreigners working in Kuwait must have a certificate to show that they’re in good general health and free from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, although tests are usually also carried out locally. Your sponsor will advise you what’s required.
Note also that any visible connection with Israel, e.g. an Israeli passport or an Israeli entry stamp, will disqualify you from entry.

While you’re in Kuwait, you’re required to carry identification documents, e.g. passport or national identity card and appropriate entry and residence visas. Note that it’s common for labour officials to carry out spot checks on businesses in search of workers employed illegally and to inspect passports in the possession of the employer.

This isn’t to suggest that the region’s countries are repressive regimes: expatriates have little to worry about if they conduct themselves in a reasonable way, obey the laws and observe the rules of the culture. Indeed, you will usually be treated with kindness and generosity.

Visas
How to obtain a visa

You can enter Kuwait without a visa if you’re a GCC national or an expatriate with authorised residence in another GCC state.

All other visitors require visas, which must be organised in advance. The Kuwaiti government’s insistence on this is understandable in view of the country’s troubled recent history.

In order to obtain a visa, you require a sponsor, which is normally your employer if you’re working. If you’re visiting for a holiday or business, the hotel where you’re staying can act as your sponsor. To request this service, you must send your travel itinerary and passport details by fax a few weeks in advance of your stay. Ensure that confirmation has been given and that your visa will be left at your point of entry before you depart. A small fee will be added to your hotel bill for this service. Additionally, your hotel might be able to obtain short extensions to your stay, provided they’re sure of your itinerary during the stay. The hotel is responsible for you during your time in the country. If you’re taking up work in Kuwait, your sponsor will normally arrange the necessary visas and permits for you.

Most visas and permits consist of passport stamps, so that immigration authorities can easily check that you have the necessary authorisation when you enter or leave the country. There are costs associated with the various visas and permits, but in the case of foreign workers these are normally met by your employer. Note that the prices quoted below should be taken as a guide only, as they’re subject to change, as are the conditions and requirements; the relevant state’s embassy or consulate can provide you with the current information.

Visitor Visa

Valid for three or six months, these are obtained from Kuwaiti embassies and consulates or via a Kuwaiti sponsor, who will apply to the Ministry of the Interior in Kuwait. Hotels also arrange visas for their guests (see above). A three-month visa costs around $45 (£30), a six-month visa around $72 (£48). Multiple entry visas may be issued upon application to Kuwaiti embassies and consulates; these are usually granted for the purpose of repeat business trips. They cost around $100 (£66) for six months, $110 (£75) for a year, $150 (£100) for two years and $120 (£180) for five years.

Residence Visa

If you’re going to work in Kuwait, you need a residence visa. First, you must obtain an NOC, which is provided by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour following application by your sponsor. If making arrangements prior to entry, your next step is to submit the NOC to the Ministry of the Interior. If you arrive on a visitor visa (see above), your sponsor will apply for an NOC and on receipt of this will apply directly to the Ministry of the Interior for your residence visa. When you receive approval for the visa, you must leave the country and return, with your NOC (although this requirement is sometimes waived); your residence visa will be issued shortly afterwards. A medical examination is required, including an HIV/AIDS test. Once you’ve obtained your a residence visa, you will be issued with a ‘Civil ID’ card, which must be carried at all times. As in the other Gulf states, your sponsor normally takes care of these administrative matters, leaving you simply to follow instructions.

Citizenship

Is it possible to become a national of Kuwait?

As a foreigner, you won’t be granted rights of citizenship in Kuwait.

Kuwait’s government is keen to protect the status quo and doesn’t want to compromise its cultural values or standard of living by allowing foreigners to become a permanent part of society. Your only route to becoming a naturalised citizen is by marriage to a national; even this, however, doesn’t guarantee citizenship, particularly for non-Muslims.

In exceptional circumstances only, a Kuwait’s ruler might grant citizenship to a foreigner who has provided outstanding service to the state over a number of years. A generous employer might reward a loyal worker who has made a major contribution to the company over many years by providing him with a work and residence permit of indefinite duration. After your retirement, however, the employer would have to be a figure of considerable influence to maintain this gift and satisfy the labour authorities. In this case, you wouldn’t be a citizen, but merely be allowed to remain in the country indefinitely.

Children of foreigners born in Kuwait don’t have rights of local citizenship and automatically assume the nationality of the parents. If one of the parents is a national of Kuwait, the child will usually be granted local nationality and may later become a national of Kuwait and obtain a local passport.

It’s recommended that you fully acquaint yourself with the implications of giving birth in Kuwait.

In many cases, the child isn’t affected, but any children that he has might not enjoy the same rights of nationality, citizenship, abode, etc. as his parents and grandparents.