Despite the Cabinet decision granting permission for the issuance of new family entry visas and visit visas for commercial, tourist and official government purposes, its implementation at residence affairs departments in all governorates is moving ahead only at a snail’s pace.
Except for those employed in the medical or teaching field, family and visit visas are still in limbo for most other expatriates. This follows explicit orders from senior Ministry of Interior officials to exert utmost due diligence before issuing entry visas to expatriates and “not to open the doors wide for everyone to enter the country,” as one head of the department put it.
Residency affairs department directors have been instructed to strictly implement the rules and regulations regarding the granting of family entry visas, including ensuring that those wishing to bring their wives or children under the age of 16 must have a monthly salary of not less than KD500.
In addition, those seeking visas will need to submit copies of the mandated vaccination certificates for their family members, as well as all other required document proofs. Moreover, those arriving on a family visit visa will be able to stay in the country only for a maximum of three months, after which the sponsor, in this case the husband, must send his wife and children back to their country.
Available records show that since the Cabinet decision a total of only around 7,000 entry visas of different types have been sanctioned by the residency departments in all six governorates combined; nearly half of these are commercial visit visas.
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