KUWAIT: The interior ministry has started accepting and processing family visa applications for expatriates after opening the doors on Sunday, following a suspension of almost two years. Local media cited the interior ministry as saying that the visas are limited for wives and children and not for parents or siblings. Applications that included parents or siblings were rejected outright.

On the first day on Sunday, the ministry received some 1,800 applications, of which some 1,165 were rejected. The ministry has set new conditions for family visas, including raising the monthly salary requirement to KD 800 and that applicants must hold university degrees and must work in the same field of their study specialization.

About 14 categories were exempted from the salary precondition. These include judges, advisors, engineers, doctors, teachers, nursing and medical staff and others. The ministry stressed these categories are exempted only from the salary precondition and not from the university degree requirement. University degrees must be attested by the university, Kuwait embassy in the expats’ home countries and the foreign ministry in Kuwait.