Yemenis likely to be banned from entering Kuwait

Manama: Yemenis are likely to be added to a list of nationals from five countries currently banned from entering Kuwait, a Kuwaiti daily said.

Citing a source it did not name, Al Watan on Wednesday said that Yemenis would reportedly join Iraqis, Iranians, Syrians, Pakistanis, and Afghans in the list of countries whose nationals are banned from entering Kuwait.

The source said that the current unrest in those countries and the fear of terrorists entering Kuwait triggered the decision. However, the ban could be reconsidered if the current unrest ends, the source said.

Kuwait in May imposed the ban on the five countries. It included suspending all tourism, visit and trade visas, as well as visas sponsored by spouses.

Sources cited by the local media attributed the blanket visa ban to the "difficult security conditions in the five countries" and to "the remarkably increasing tendency of nationals from the five countries to apply for visas to bring in relatives who faced or could face arrest by the local authorities to Kuwait."

The sources said the authorities insisted that no exception in the visa application would be tolerated, but added that the ban was temporary and would be lifted after the security situation stabilised.