Visa ban

By Fajer Ahmed

As the European Parliament sets a date this week to discuss and negotiate allowing Kuwaiti citizens to travel to Europe without the need of a Schengen Visa, Kuwait on the other hand has suspended visit visas until further notice, while news sources claim the following:

1. Visas issuance has been halted until new mechanisms are in place.
2. Possibly a decision to ban work permits for citizens of countries with large communities in Kuwait will be seriously discussed, so only technical and qualified labor can be brought in from these countries.
3. Imposing health insurance on every expat.
4. Obtaining residency in Kuwait will be toughened through increasing residency fees.
5. Only those whose salary is KD 600 or higher can bring in a parent, but that will rise to double the figure as new developments occur.
6. Not allowing the extension of the visit period, which is for 3 months.

Although I understand that laws are in place to regulate and protect the country, and that these legal decisions are made from a political and economic standpoint, we also need to discuss the effects of such laws on the social and humane aspects. Some of these proposed discussions are logical and practical, and are globally seen in other countries.

With that said, it is unclear why issuance of visas was halted until new regulations are implemented, instead of just switching implementation from one regulation to another, to prevent causing disturbance to families of expats in Kuwait.

As Kuwaitis, personally and as a government, we really need to respect the people that are coming to Kuwait to assist us with work that is needed – our doctors, teachers, cleaners, cooks and so on. They should not be treated as a threat but be respected, as they are part of our everyday life.

I wonder what the new regulations will state, and how excluding certain nationalities from entering the country will work out.

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