A person in Kuwait on a visit visa may not take up employment, for which he or she must have a residence visa.

There is possibility that in the future expatriates coming to Kuwait on a visit visa may be allowed to pursue a career without having to leave the country and return on new entry visa. However, expatriates who obtain a job in Kuwait while on a visit may be required to pay KD 100 to avoide leaving the country and returning on a work permit.

Obtaining Residence

To live in Kuwait, expatriates other than GCC citizens must have an iqama, i.e. a residence permit. A person discovered without a valid iqama is fined and deported.

There are different types of iqama, which are allotted article numbers in the immigration regulations. The three main types are work visas, domestic and dependent visas, all of which require a sponsor. An expatriate may however sponsor his own residence, with or without being permitted to work, provided he has lived in Kuwait for many years and has substantial financial means.

Work Permits, no-Objection Certificates & Work Visas

Work visas are iqamas granted under articles 17 (for public sector employees) and 18 (private sector employees) of the immigration regulations. To obtain residence on a work visa an offer of employment must first be accepted. The Kuwaiti sponsoring employer then applies for a work permit from the Ministry of Social Affairs & Labour, for which the sponsor needs a copy of the employee's passport showing full personal details, and any other Kuwait entry visas. A private sector sponsoring employer must then obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the General Administration of Criminal Investigation at the Ministry of the Interior which he does by submitting the employee's personal details.

If the employee is living in a country that has a Kuwaiti Embassy the employer will send him a copy of the work permit, which the employee will take, with a medical certificate, to the Kuwaiti Embassy for endorsement. The Kuwaiti Embassy will have received a copy of the work permit through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Those sponsored by private sector companies will require their NOCs and a copy of the employer's authorised signatory as registered for business purposes. A good conduct certificate, which is obtained from the police in the last place of residence, may be required for some nationalities. Applicants are also required to provide a medical certificate stating that their general state of health is good and that they are free of specific epidemic diseases. The Embassy will then provide an entry visa for Kuwait on submission of the application form.

If the employee is living in a country that has no Kuwaiti Embassy then the sponsor will submit the work permit and NOC to the Ministry of the Interior to obtain the entry visa. If an employee is on a visit visa to Kuwait when he accepts employment, then, once the work permit and NOC are ready, he must leave Kuwait and return on the entry visa the sponsor obtains for him. This can be a short round trip to Bahrain by air for the day.

Once he has entered Kuwait on the entry visa, the employee is required to undergo medical tests and obtain a fingerprint certificate before he can process his residence visa.

Medical Tests

The medical tests are taken at the Ports & Borders Health Division, Gamal Abdul Nasser Street, in Shuwaikh, just west of KISR but before the Chest Hospital is reached. Requirements are passport, copy of NOC, a single photograph and a KD10 revenue stamp. Revenue stamps are available from post offices, or from private traders outside the test area who charge a small premium over the nominal value of the stamp.

To take the tests, a pink card must be obtained from a reception window. There is no system of appointments and most people must queue for the various procedures. These include blood tests for serious infectious diseases, such as AIDS, and a chest x-ray. A meningitis vaccination is also given. It takes about a week for the results, which are given in the form of a certificate from the Ministry of Public Health, to come through. Persons found to be infected with epidemic diseases are deported.

Expatriates employed in restaurants, hotels, hospitals and food processing are required to go for health check up every year and obtain the certificate. Also people from the following countries will require annual check-ups: Somalia, Thailand, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Eritrea, Senegal, Kenya, Chad, South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Mauritania, Benin, Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Gambia, Mauritius, Bhutan, Zaire, Guinea, Togo, Mali, Seychelles, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Malawi, Malta, Guinea-Bissau, Fijji, Cuba, Haiti, Zambia, Angola, Congo and Namobia.
 

Health Insurance Scheme

From April 10, 2000 Ministry of Health has imposed health insurance on expatriates. No new residence is stamped or old renewed unless the expatriates have paid the state health insurance premiums, KD 50 for the head of the family, KD 40 for the wife and KD 30 for every child below the age of 18. The duration of expatriates' residence is linked directly to the period covered by health insurance. One year health insurance paid entitles only one year residence permit.

Though Kuwaiti nationals are exempted from the scheme, foreign women married to Kuwaitis and children of Kuwaiti women married to foreigners are required to pay KD 5 insurance premium. The law stipulates that the employers pay the premiums for their employees.

Privatization of Health Insurance

According to a recent report the Health Ministry has taken measures to privatise the health insurance scheme currently enforced on the expatriates. The premium may be reduced to KD 30 per year. The private health insurance scheme will mainly provide health services for expatriates through certain hospitals that will provide services under policies issued by the private sector.

Kuwait Municipality has allocated land for three health insurance hospitals in Jahra, Ahmadi and Farwaniya to construct insurance hospitals and more hospitals will be built in the future.  

Fingerprinting & Security Clearance

There are four fingerprint departments where expatriates can have their fingerprints registered and obtain security clearance. These are located in Khaled Ibn Al Waleed Street, Sharq, near the toy shops (for persons living in the City governorate), Al-Ghazali Street, Farwaniya (for persons living in Hawalli and Farwaniya governorates), Ahmadi and Jahra.

To have fingerprints registered, an employee's passport, copy of the passport, four photographs and a letter from the Ministry of Social Affairs & Labour are required. An application form must be completed in Arabic and there are always freelance typists around who will do so for a small fee.

It takes about a week for the fingerprints to be processed and the security clearance certificate to be issued by the Criminal Evidence Department of the Ministry of the Interior. The certificate is picked up from the same place.

Application for Residence

The actual application for an iqama is made at the Immigration and Passport Department of the Ministry of the Interior in Shuwaikh (the jawazaat or 'passport office'), just off the Airport Road near the Q8 compound between the 3rd and 4th Ring Roads. First time applicants for residence must bring along the following documents in the form of both originals and photocopies:

• declaration on the prescribed form completed and signed by the sponsor
• passport
• work permit
• NOC
• medical certificate
• security clearance (fingerprint) certificate

Four passport size photographs are also required. A maximum of five years residence can be granted. The fee is KD10 per year of residence, with an additional KD2 in the first year. If the sponsor is a government organisation then, by law, the employee must bear the cost. If the sponsor is a private company the cost is a matter of negotiation between the sponsor and the employee.

Renewing Residence

After the initial residence has expired it can be renewed, provided the expatriate intends to continue under the same sponsor. Renewal is a fairly simple matter. Applications are made at the jawazaat in Shuwaikh and the process should be started a month before the expiry of the current residence.

Medical tests are not required on renewal. However the employee's work permit must first be renewed with the Ministry of Social Affairs & Labour. The application for renewal must be supported by:

• the employee's passport and a copy of it,
• the renewed work permit, and
• a copy of the sponsor's signature as required for business purposes.

Normally the sponsor or his official 'mandoub' will attend at the jawazaat to renew the employee's iqama. Where the employee does so himself, he must have a letter from his sponsor authorising him to do so.

Mandoub

Most offices in Kuwait have a mandoub, a representative whose job is to process the 'official' paperwork of his company. A mandoub is usually an expatriate Arab. His value depends on his knowledge of the required forms and procedures and his ability to push paperwork through government bureaucracy. To deal with certain ministries the mandoub must be officially registered.