Kuwait allows expat mothers to sponsor children
Earlier, a mother was only able to transfer residency if she was a widow or divorcee
Kuwait City: Kuwait’s General Administration of Residency Affairs has altered its decision barring expat mothers from sponsoring their children’s residence visas, local media reported.
The decision came after an announcement made last month, by the General Administration of Resident Affairs, to ban the a mother from sponsoring her child in the event that the father leaves Kuwait or his residence permit has expired while he is abroad.
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The six governorates were notified to accept transactions related to mother sponsoring their children’s residence permit, on the condition that they follow the previous residency regulations and the dependent visa rules, mainly that the sponsor has a minimum salary of 500 Kuwaiti dinars per month.
The old rule stated that in order for a mother to sponsor her child, she needs to be a widow or divorced.
This decision never applied to female teachers working in the Ministry of Education, nursing staff in the Ministry of Health and female doctors working in the Forensics department, as they were always able to sponsor residency permits for their children without any restrictions, a source told Al Qabas.
The change in decision was reversed after the General Administration of Residency Affairs found the ban on sponsorship was ineffective. According to Al Qabas, last month’s decision was made to address the demographic imbalance in Kuwait, where expats make up 70 per cent of the population of Kuwait.
Dependent visa
There are three types of residency visas in Kuwait: work visa, domestic visa and dependent visa. The dependent visa allows expats residing in Kuwait to sponsor their family members, although various restrictions apply.
According to Kuwait labour law, the father is the main sponsor of his wife and children. For the father to be able to sponsor his child, he must have a minimum salary of 500 Kuwaiti dinars per month.
There are two limitations with the dependent visa. First, a wife is unable to sponsor her husband, unless she is working in the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Health. Second, once a son turns 21, he can no longer be on his parents’ visa.
No transfer of visit visa
Last week, the Ministry of Interior issued instructions banning the conversion of all types of visit visas to residency permits.
According to Kuwaiti labour law, anybody holding a visit visa can stay up to 30 days in the country.
Back in March, the Ministry of Interior announced that all visit visas can be extended for two months, given the COVID-19 crisis.