Please register to access this content.
To continue viewing the content you love, please sign in or create a new account
Dismiss
This content is for our paying subscribers only

Gulf Kuwait

Unvaccinated expats will not be allowed to enter Kuwait

Direct flights with ‘high-risk’ countries not to resume soon



People queue as they arrive to register to be vaccinated for COVID-19 coronavirus at the make-shift vaccination centre erected at the Kuwait International Fairground in the Mishref suburb south of Kuwait City on December 29, 2020.
Image Credit: AFP

Cairo: Expatriates, unable to get the jab against COVID-19 for health reasons, will not be allowed to enter Kuwait, an airport source has said, as the country is set to lift a ban in place since February on non-Kuwaitis’ entry.

However, foreign children under the age of 16 will be allowed into Kuwait starting August 1 on condition they are escorted by their parents who have received two doses of the vaccine, the source at the Kuwaiti International Airport told Al Qabas newspaper.

In recent months, Kuwait has tightened travel measures to limit the spread of coronavirus, including suspending flights with several countries.

“Direct air routes with the high-risk countries will not reopen to protect the health system in the country,” the source said.

Kuwait has recently seen a steep drop in virus infection rates.

Advertisement

According to a circular issued by the Kuwaiti Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the vaccinated expatriates to be allowed into the country, who have already received vaccination against COVID-19, are required to register themselves in the health Shlonik app and the Kuwait Musafer platform, necessary for all passengers travelling to and from the country.

As for the expatriates inoculated abroad with vaccines approved in Kuwait, they will have to get their vaccination certificates accredited by uploading them on the Health Ministry website while proving electronically they have received the jabs before boarding their flights heading to Kuwait. On arrival in Kuwait, they need to complete registration via the Shlonik app and the Kuwait Musafar platform.

Vaccines approved in Kuwait are two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna and one dose of Johnson & Johnson

Since February 7, non-Kuwaitis have been barred from travelling to Kuwait. The ban is due to be lifted on August 1 when vaccinated foreign residents, who have a valid residency permit can enter Kuwait.

Advertisement