Life In Kuwait

Recently, visit visas were opened for Pakistanis in Kuwait.  The visas were opened for everyone, including immediate family (parents, spouse, children), extended family (in-laws, brothers, sisters), and even for friends, cousins (not sure about that).

I applied for a visa for my mother, and the process was straightforward.

Documents Needed

Since I applied for my mother, I will mention the documents that I prepared and the process I followed for her. If anyone has called their extended family, in-laws, etc., and found anything that they wish to add, please mention it in the comments for the benefit of others.

1. Documents from Pakistan
   • Visitor Passport
   • NADRA Identity Card
   • FRC (Family Relationship Certificate)
   • Family Relationship Certificate issued by the Pakistan Embassy in Kuwait.
2. My (Sponsor’s) General Documents.
   • My Passport, since I am the sponsor.
   • My Civil ID Copy.
   • My wife’s civil ID copy.
3. Documents from my company
   • Salary Certificate issued by HR (the one with Company Letterhead).
   • Izn-e-Amal (Salary Registered in Government) is also issued by HR.
   • Izn-e-Toqee (Signature Paper) was also issued by HR.
4. Return Ticket from Jazeera or Kuwait Airways (valid for one month).
5. Visit Visa Application Form.  

Process

1. I prepared the entire document set mentioned above except for the ‘Visit Visa Application Form’.
2. Visited the Pakistan Embassy with the document set.
   • From the photocopy shop inside the embassy, a form was given to me to fill in my details and the details of my guest and my relationship to her.
   • Some copies from the document sets were also made and attached to the form.
   • Once the form was filled out, I went to the attestation window for attestation.
   • The person validated the documents and copies, and after some time the form was attested. 3 KD were charged for the attestation.
3. Visited Kuwait Foreign Affairs in Liberation Tower.
   • 5 KD were charged for the stamp fees, and the Relationship Form attested by the Pakistan Embassy was attested.
   • No appointment was needed.
4. Visited the Typing Center at my Jawazat (Ministry that Issues the visa)
   • There, the Visit Visa Application Form was prepared with all my details.
   • The document set was also prepared.
   • The form has space for attaching a picture of your visitor (I attached the picture of my visitor, but I saw many forms being submitted without the picture, so I guess they are not needed)
5. Book an appointment for Jawazat
   • In the Sahel App, go to Appointments > Ministry of Interior > General Department of Residency > Family Visit Visa.
   • Select Branch. Since my Civil ID is Ishbiliya, my Jawazat was in Riqqae. But in the branch, I didn’t find Riqqae or Ishbiliya. So I selected Farwaniya, and it worked.
6. Visit Jawazat to apply for the visa.  
   • In Riqqae, the visit visa section was on the first floor.
   • I went, showed my appointment, and took a number.
   • After my turn came, my documents were checked. Then I was directed to have my application/papers signed by the Mudeer (Manager).
   • The Mudeer (manager), after signing, sent me to Mudeer Kabeer (Senior Manager) on the 2^nd floor for further signing.
   • Mudeer Kabeer asked me about my salary, etc., and then signed the paper.
   • Then I came back to the same Mudeer (Manager), who signed again.
   • I went back to the same counter and he checked all the documents and asked me to come in three days.
   • Normally, they should give you a small paper with the reference number, etc. But he didn’t give me any paper. So don’t forget to take that.
7. Check whether a Visa is issued.
   • You can check whether the visa is issued or not from the Sahel App. The option is Profile > Ministry of Interior > Visas > Select Visa Number.
   • Maybe this option will not appear if the visa is not yet issued or the documents are not yet submitted. I am not sure since I was searching for a way to check whether the visa is ready or not, but I didn’t find any option, although I asked many people. So I found the hard way 😊
   • Once the visa is issued then book an appointment at Jawazat to collect the visa.
8. Visit Jawazat to collect the Visa
   • After 3 days, I booked the appointment again (although it was probably not needed, but why take the risk).
   • I took a number. It was not needed as well. I just had to go to a counter where the visas were being issued.
   • I showed the screenshot from the Sahel App, as I mentioned above.
   • Within minutes, a printout was given, and then I paid 3 KD.  
9. You have the visa now, and your visitor can visit/enter Kuwait.

Some Notes About FRC

Family Relationship Certificate is a certificate issued by Nadra that mentions all your family members. This is needed by the Pakistan Embassy to verify your relationship with your visitor. This is not a requirement for the Kuwait ministries. In case of in-laws, I guess you would need the FRC of your in-laws (showing your spouse) and your FRC (showing your (sponsor) relationship with your spouse)

In case there are some issues in the NADRA database with respect to your family members, then there might be issues in generating FRC, even if all family members are registered with NADRA and have a NADRA Identity card. These issues need to be resolved from the NADRA offices in Pakistan before the FRC is issued.

FRC can be requested directly via the ‘Pak Identity’ App. The process is simple if each member of the family is registered with Nadra.

Notes

1. I have heard some additional documents are needed for in-laws, sisters, wives/husbands, and children, like Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, etc. But since I was calling my mother so none of these documents were prepared by me.
2. All payments in the Embassy, Kuwait Foreign Affairs, and Jawazat are made by KNET. Also, in the typing center I visited, they had KNET as well as Cash.
3. There is some news about issuing one visa for the entire GCC, like the Schengen. This will be good in case we want to call our visitors and then go for Umra or other cities in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, or even Qatar. Not sure whether it will be allowed on the road.
4. At the moment, there is no option for extension, but there is some news that extension will also be possible in a few months.

It is been a while since the visas for Pakistanis have been opened, so please ensure that you are a law-abiding citizen and follow the rules mentioned and abide by the set procedures and law.

For the general benefit of others, please mention in the comments any other steps/documents that are needed. Especially in the case of calling someone other than your parents.

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