Ministry of Interior (MoI) announced on Wednesday, that the residency affairs sector, in cooperation with the information and communications technology sector, launched a new online service that allows holders of temporary residency according to Article (14) to transfer and return to their previous residencies.
The Ministry of Public Relations and Security Media at the Ministry said in a press statement that the service is to renew the regular residency visas of those holding temporary residency visas that ends on August 31, 2020. She added that sponsors and employers can transfer those under their sponsorship to their regular residency visas prior to obtaining temporary residency visas after providing the necessary conditions for each type of residency visas via online services of the official website of the Ministry of Interior (www.moi.gov.kw).
She noted that the service comes within the framework of the continuous development in all service sectors in the security establishment in order to facilitate the procedures of citizens and expats to save time, effort and speedy completion of transactions. The Ministry called on all who intend to use this service to quickly register on the ministry’s website and to follow the necessary steps to transfer their residency visas from temporary to their original residency visas without the need to wait for the opening of the residence affairs departments.
Earlier, expatriates with valid residency visas, who are stranded outside Kuwait due to halt in flights to and from Kuwait were granted a reprieve with the validity of their residency visas being extended to 12 months instead of 6 months.
Aside from extending all types of visit visas for 3 months, also applicable are domestic workers and those who entered the country on a work visa and were unable to complete residency procedures.
This comes under the difficult conditions faced by the country due to coronavirus crisis. The new decisions issued by the Ministry of Interior acknowledges the difficulties faced by expatriates residing in the country and abroad, and is granting those in violation of the residency laws a temporary residency visa that is valid for three months, starting from 31 May, 2020, with a maximum duration till 31/8/2020.
The three-month extension is done automatically online and includes expats who are in Kuwait only from the holders of residencies (all kinds) and those who entered the country according to entry or types of visit visas (of all kinds) and the validity period of their visa has expired. They are not required to log in as a sponsor or business owner into the Ministry of Interior website as the residency visa will be automatically renewed for 3 months.