Skip to content

Middle East · 29.38° N · 47.99° E

Kuwait visa and entry requirements

Kuwait's tourist e-visa is issued online by the Ministry of Interior to the nationalities that also qualify for a visa on arrival. The entry permit must be used within 30 days of being issued.

Verified on kuwaitvisa.moi.gov.kw · October 22, 2026

Key facts

Authorisation
Kuwait Tourist Visa (e-Visa) – single entry, Ministry of Interior 'Kuwait Visa' portal
Stay
90 days · Single entry
Validity
30 days from issue
Authority processing
Up to 2 business days
Passport
6 months beyond arrival

Apply no more than 30 days before you fly, because the permit expires 30 days after it is issued. The official FAQ quotes 1 to 2 business days for tourist visas, so filing one to two weeks before departure leaves time for a correction.

With your passport

E-visa or visa on arrival

Visa on arrival, or online before you fly

With an Andorran passport you can get your visa at the border, or apply online before you fly and skip the visa counter on arrival.

Standard

Filed within 24 hours

Rush

Filed within 4 hours, front of the queue

Super Rush

Filed within 1 hour, dedicated agent

Apply now

Your typical itinerary

  1. Today
  2. Filed on the official portal
  3. Authority decision
  4. Delivery

Dates calculated for the Standard service, from a payment made today.

The Kuwait tourist e-visa is a single-entry entry permit issued by the Ministry of Interior through its Kuwait Visa portal (kuwaitvisa.moi.gov.kw), which has taken over from the older evisa.moi.gov.kw site. It is open to the nationalities on Kuwait's visa-on-arrival list and to GCC residents whose profession appears on the approved list. The process runs through an account: e-mail verification code, profile, application, then status tracking. The fee is displayed at the end of the form and, according to the portal's FAQ, is only collected once the application is accepted. On arrival, immigration at Kuwait International Airport matches the permit to your passport. The visa does not allow any paid work.

Most visited cities

  • 29.38° N · 47.98° E

    Kuwait City

    The capital, with the Kuwait Towers, the Grand Mosque, Souq Al-Mubarakiya and the Arabian Gulf seafront.

  • 29.33° N · 48.08° E

    Salmiya

    Seaside district with the Scientific Center aquarium, Marina Crescent, beaches and shopping streets.

  • 29.44° N · 48.33° E

    Failaka Island

    Island off the coast with Bronze Age and Hellenistic remains, reached by ferry from the mainland.

Photo credits: Kuwait City — Samarstha45, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Salmiya — TSCKuwait, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Failaka Island — Bo hessin, CC BY-SA 3.0

Documents you need

Your passport scan covers most of the form. These are the files the official portal asks for.

  • Passport photo page

    clear colour scan/photo of the data page; passport valid ≥ 6 months from entry; JPG/PNG/PDF (limit shown on portal)

    Required
  • Passport-style photo

    recent, passport standard, white background, face clearly recognisable, JPG/PNG

    Required
  • Confirmed round-trip ticket

    PDF/JPG of the booking

    Required
  • Hotel booking / proof of accommodation

    PDF/JPG; invitation letter if staying with a host

    Required
  • GCC residence permit / Emirates ID

    only for GCC residents; valid ≥ 6 months; profession must be on the approved list

    If it applies

How it works

From scan to payment in under 60 seconds.

  1. 01

    Scan your passport

    Point your phone at the photo page or upload it. We read it in seconds — nothing to type.

  2. 02

    See the full price, then pay

    Service fee and government fee are shown before you pay. No account needed, just your email.

  3. 03

    Answer what’s left

    Only the official questions your passport did not answer. Saved as you go; finishing them is what lets us file.

  4. 04

    Track it to your inbox

    We file on the official portal, follow up with the authority and send you the approved document.

Entry rules at the border

Passport
6 months beyond arrivalValid for at least 6 months from your date of entry. Ordinary, diplomatic and special passports are accepted; other travel documents are not.
Blank pages
Kuwait publishes no blank-page rule for e-visa holders. Keep at least one free page for the entry and exit stamps.
Onward ticket
RequiredA confirmed round-trip ticket is a required upload, and its dates should match the arrival and departure dates declared on the form.
Vaccinations
No vaccination requiredNo vaccination certificate is required to enter Kuwait, whatever country you arrive from: Kuwait has no yellow fever requirement in WHO's country list, so travellers from Europe or North America need nothing.
Insurance
MandatoryTo confirm before you flySince December 2025, a Ministry of Health decision ties the issue of visit visas to health insurance cover recognised in Kuwait. Check how it is charged for your visa category on the portal's summary page before paying.
Ports of entry
Most e-visa holders arrive at Kuwait International Airport. The form also offers land borders and seaports: declare the crossing you will actually use, for example Al Nuwaiseeb when driving in from Saudi Arabia.

Carry a printed copy of your authorisation

Also good to know

  • Alcohol and pork products are prohibited in Kuwait and are confiscated at customs.
  • During Ramadan, eating, drinking and smoking in public in daylight hours is forbidden, visitors included.
  • The tourist e-visa does not cover business meetings or work; the portal has a separate business visa tab.

Why applications get refused — and what we check

Nationality outside the e-visa list

The tourist e-visa is reserved for the nationalities on Kuwait's visa-on-arrival list and for qualifying GCC residents. Other passports need a visa sponsored by a host or company in Kuwait, and the UK government notes that some British citizens born in certain countries must also apply through an embassy.

What we checkA careful agent checks the nationality on the passport against the Ministry's list before filing and, for a dual national, uses the eligible passport that will actually be shown at the border.

Profession not on the approved list (GCC residents)

GCC residents qualify only when the profession printed on their residence permit is on Kuwait's approved list. A job title that differs from the permit, or one outside the list, leads to refusal.

What we checkThe profession is copied word for word from the residence permit or Emirates ID, and the permit's expiry date is checked to be at least 6 months away.

Photo or passport scan rejected

The portal requires two separate uploads: a passport-style photo on a white background and a scan of the passport data page. A selfie, a coloured background or a photo cropped from the passport page gets the file sent back.

What we checkThe photo is checked for a plain white background and a fully visible face, and the scan for four visible corners and a legible machine-readable zone.

Ticket or accommodation not matching the form

A confirmed round-trip ticket and proof of accommodation are mandatory. Dates that differ from the declared arrival and departure, or a host address without area, block and street, are a common cause of refusal.

What we checkTicket, booking and form are compared date by date, and a Kuwaiti address is written in the local format: area, block, street, house or building.

What if…

Real situations our agents handle, and what to do.

Your trip slips beyond the 30 days after the permit was issued
The entry permit lapses 30 days after issue and cannot be extended before arrival. File a new application with the new dates; its fee is collected again once that application is accepted.
You expect to visit Kuwait several times
Select the multiple-entry visit visa instead of stacking single-entry permits. The portal's fee table sets it at KD 3 plus KD 1 per month; it is valid for up to one year from issue, and each stay is limited to 30 days.
You live in the UAE on a passport that is not on the list
GCC residence can make you eligible if your profession is on the approved list and your residence permit is valid for at least 6 more months. Upload the permit and enter the profession exactly as it is printed.
You are driving in from Saudi Arabia
Declare a land border as your port of entry. At the Al Nuwaiseeb crossing, have the approved permit, your passport, the vehicle registration and motor insurance valid in Kuwait ready for inspection.
You want to stay longer than planned
The Ministry's instructions cap the tourist stay at 90 days from entry. Overstaying is fined KD 10 per day and can lead to an entry ban; any extension or change of status must be handled by the residency affairs department before your permitted stay ends.

Questions travellers ask

Which website issues the Kuwait e-visa?
The Ministry of Interior's Kuwait Visa portal at kuwaitvisa.moi.gov.kw. The legacy address evisa.moi.gov.kw returned errors in October 2026; the new site asks you to create an account with an e-mail verification code before the application form opens.
When is the government fee paid?
The fee appears at the end of the form and, according to the portal's FAQ, is only collected if the application is accepted. The portal's fee table sets KD 3 for most nationalities and KD 9 for Egyptian citizens, while some nationalities, including US, UK, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian and South Korean citizens, are exempt. It is not refundable.
How long can I stay in Kuwait with the e-visa?
The permit must be used within 30 days of issue, and the Ministry's instructions allow a stay of up to 90 days from the date of entry. It is valid for one entry only.
Can I simply take the visa on arrival instead?
The visa on arrival is still issued at Kuwait International Airport to the same nationalities. The e-visa means the decision is made before you board, and the uploaded ticket and hotel booking have already been checked.
Which documents do I upload?
A scan of the passport data page, a separate passport-style photo on a white background, a confirmed round-trip ticket and proof of accommodation. GCC residents also upload their residence permit or Emirates ID.
Can I stay with friends or family instead of a hotel?
Yes. Choose a private home as accommodation type, give the host's name and the address in Kuwaiti format (area, block, street, house) and attach an invitation letter. Visits sponsored by a relative resident in Kuwait can also go through the separate Family visit tab.
Do children need their own e-visa?
Yes. Each traveller, including infants, needs a permit issued on their own passport, with their own photo and the same round-trip ticket details as the accompanying parent.
Is health insurance required?
Since December 2025, Kuwait requires visit-visa holders to have health insurance cover recognised locally, under a Ministry of Health decision. Check how the cover is charged for your category on the portal before paying.
Can I bring alcohol into Kuwait?
No. Alcohol is banned in Kuwait, including in hotels, and bottles bought in duty free are confiscated on arrival. Pork products are also prohibited.
Can I attend business meetings on the tourist e-visa?
No. The tourist permit excludes any professional activity; the Kuwait Visa portal has a separate business visa tab for meetings and conferences, and paid work requires a work permit sponsored by an employer in Kuwait.
Do I need an e-visa to change planes in Kuwait?
Not if you stay airside at Kuwait International Airport and do not pass immigration. If your connection requires collecting bags or changing terminals through passport control, you need a visa.
What happens if my passport is renewed after the e-visa is issued?
The permit is tied to the passport number entered on the Kuwait Visa portal. With a new passport you need a new application; the old permit cannot be transferred.

Other passports

The requirements above are for an Andorran passport. For another passport, change it in the price column or see the list.

Entry without a visaSee the 5 passportsPassports5Stay—Government feeNoneProcessingNone

5 passports enter Kuwait without a visa. Nothing has to be filed before the flight to Kuwait: the passport is stamped at the border. What trips people up: Kuwait wants the passport valid 6 more months from the arrival date.

Visa on arrivalSee the 53 passportsPassports53StayUp to 90 daysGovernment feeKWD 0 to KWD 3ProcessingUp to 2 business days
Your passport is in this group

53 passports get the visa at the border in Kuwait. The e-visa can be filed online instead, to skip the visa counter when landing in Kuwait. What trips people up: border officers in Kuwait can ask for a return or onward ticket.

Visa from an embassySee the 139 passportsPassports139Stay—Government fee—ProcessingSet by the consulate

139 passports need a visa from an embassy or consulate of Kuwait before travelling. Visaska does not file these visas: each consulate of Kuwait sets its own documents and delays, so book the appointment early.

Entry not allowedSee the 1 passportsPassports1Stay—Government fee—Processing—

Kuwait does not currently admit holders of this passport. Check with the nearest embassy of Kuwait before making travel plans.

Visaska is a private company, unaffiliated with any government. You can apply directly with the authorities at kuwaitvisa.moi.gov.kw.

Delivered by

Start my application