As Kuwait fully opens its visit visa to expatriates under the guidelines and requirements announced by the Ministry of Interior, the country issues an average of 8,700 visit visas per week across the six governorates. This includes approximately 2,000 business visit visas, 2,900 family visit visas, and 3,800 tourist visit visas per week, Brigadier Mazid Al-Mutairi, Assistant Director General of the General Administration for Residency Affairs said in an interview with Al Rai Arabic newspaper.

The visas are available to all nationalities under specific rules and regulations, which require sponsors to adhere to set conditions and visitors to respect the country’s laws. Visa holders have largely adhered to the duration of their visits, departing once their period ended, without overstaying, he said. The violation of visit visa overstaying is very low, he added.

When a visitor does not comply with the visa duration, a notification is sent to the sponsor via the “Sahel” application, followed by an SMS text message. If the violation persists, the sponsor is contacted after five to seven days and asked to review the case with the Residence Affairs Investigations Department. Strict measures are enforced on violating sponsors, including ban on sponsoring new visa, penalties and arrest.

Visit visas are granted smoothly within 15 to 30 minutes if the application meets the conditions, he added. The highest number of visitors are from Americans, British, Turks, Jordanians, Egyptians, Indians, and Syrians.