The Italian Ambassador H E Carlo Balducci, informed that the embassy issued 22,538 visas for Kuwaitis during this year and until the end of August, pointing out that the turnout of Kuwaitis to visit Italy was noticeable high during the summer vacation, and that the consular section completed all requests at a record speed.
In a statement to Al-Rai, Balducci denied that there had been any rejection of visa applications for Kuwaiti citizens. Regarding the “long-term multiple Schengen visa” system, he explained that it is a multiple-entry visa that allows its holder to enter and exit the Schengen area as many times as he wants, as long as he does not violate Rule 90/180, which states that “he is in the Schengen area for a period longer than 90 days, within a period of 180 days.
He stated that the “Schengen” visa code has been updated to define new and well-defined rules regarding who will benefit from multiple-entry visas, and the law stipulates that multiple-entry visas will be granted with a validity of one, three and five years, depending on the applicants’ visa and travel date, pointing out that this is the so-called Cascade mechanism that will be activated very soon for Kuwaiti citizens.
He pointed out that “Italy is a very hospitable, welcoming and safe country, where it is very easy to feel at home. The beauty and diversity of the landscape, the richness of the artistic cities, and the history and culture that can be felt in every aspect of the many Italian specialties, for example from cuisine to fashion to design, are truly special Italian characteristics and I know that I especially appreciate many Kuwaitis And residents of Kuwait who travel to Italy.”
He pointed out that “Italy and Kuwait have particularly high-level bilateral relations, which are constantly growing in many sectors. Suffice it to say that in 2022, Italy was Kuwait’s number one trading partner in terms of exports or the wide display of Italian cultural initiatives in Kuwait.”
He said, “We have finally defined a framework for relations, at the institutional level, that allows us to raise the level of relations further. This would greatly enhance the exchange of visits that we are working on, whether Kuwaiti in Italy or Italian in Kuwait.
