Legal Clinic

I have been going through your legal clinic column and I can’t seem to find a clear answer on how many months I can get if I sponsor my mother-in-law, can you please clarify below queries:

1. How many months can I get if I sponsor my mother-in-law? conflicting and vague information I’m getting from the web. Some say one month others say three months.
2. Can you please walk me through on how to obtain the tourist/ visit visa for my mother-in-law. Please clarify the requirement and fees included.
3. How many days does it usually take to process such visa? Hoping for your reply and clarification on the same.

Name withheld

Answer: There is nothing conflicting about the duration of a visit visa for a mother-in-law. The rules unambiguously state that the duration of visit/tourist visa for any person other than the immediate family of the applicant is one month for immediate family members, herein referred to as wife, husband and their children the duration is three months.

In short you can only get one month visit visa for your mother-in-law.

To apply for a visit visa you need the following documents:

1. Proof of relationship
2. Copy of visitor’s passport
3. Copy of your civil ID
4. Copy of work permit indicating your salary.

These documents are attached to an application and delivered to the Immigration Department in your area. In most cases this application will be processed on the same day it is presented and it is either approved or rejected. An application fee of KD 3 is charged for visit visa.

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I am a civil engineer by profession and working in Kuwait for the past 2 years. Recently I submitted my application for K.S.E membership. After 1 month when I enquired about the membership they said I have done my graduation in civil engineering from part time degree course which is not authorized by K.S.E. even though my college and civil engineering branch also has got N.B.A. accredited. I am helpless kindly tell me how I can obtain K.E.S. membership.

Name withheld

Answer: Unfortunately, we are as helpless as you are especially that you have already been told by Kuwait Society of Engineers (KSE) that they don’t recognise the method you used in acquiring your civil engineering degree and hence they cannot accept your membership of the society

Kindly go through our archives and refrain from sending repeated questions
Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

My wife is in Kuwait on visit visa for 3 months period. The Visa was issued in January 2019. She entered Kuwait on Jan 29th. Now she is planning to leave on March 30th. My question is can I bring her back again on visit visa to Kuwait. Immediately she leaves the country. Is there any time frame to wait. Can you please explain briefly?

Name withheld

Answer: No, you can’t bring your wife back after she exits Kuwait unless after six months of her exit

Kindly go through our archives and refrain from sending repeated questions
Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

I would like to inquire about the policy governing maternity leave. I delivered my baby and my leave started on Feb 3, 2019. Our days off are Friday and Saturdays. My question is: are Fridays and Saturdays included in the 70 days when counting the maternity leave and the holidays in between. Actually I don’t know when I will resume because of the issue of Fridays and Saturdays and the holidays in between. Please can you clarify my queries.

Name withheld

Answer: The law governing maternity leave in the private sector talks of seventy days; so 70 days mean 70 days which you must start counting from Feb 3rd when you began the maternity leave and when you get to 70, you go to work the following day. In short the days off and holidays inbetween are counted as part of the 70 days. It is only the annual leave that you don’t count the off and holidays as part of the leave.

Kindly go through our archives and refrain from sending repeated questions
Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

I am working with a Korean company in Kuwait for the past 8 months, but they are going to terminate me due to absenteeism. Actually I am suffering from skin infection and taking medication for that. It’s not getting cured and I applied for leave to go for medical treatment but the company rejected my leave application. So I want to know if I would be paid till the end of my contract if I am fired.

Name withheld

Answer: According to the labour law if you absent yourself from work for seven working days without permission either from your superiors or a medical doctor, then you will be deemed to have vacated your position and hence broken the terms of your contract and will not be eligible to demand any compensation. If on the other hand you sought and was granted permission to be absent, then the company will be legally bound to pay you for the remaining period of your contract if they fire you based on your medical condition for which reason you absented yourself from work. It is however not left for you to single handed to report for duty but this must be done with permission of your superior officer or a doctor.

Kindly go through our archives and refrain from sending repeated questions
Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

I have received a offer letter from a company based in Kuwait, in which my profession is mentioned as ‘accountant’, but in the visa provided, it is ‘waiter or clerk’. Is there any problem with this anomaly? Will this cause any problem if I want to apply for the sponsorship of my wife. On my Ezanamel salary is KD 450.

Name withheld

Answer: You will face no problems in applying for a dependent visa for your wife. Indeed, so far as you are on Visa 18 your designations or profession plays no role in applying for a dependent visa so far as your monthly salary is KD 450 or above.

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Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

I am from India. I’m working in Kuwait as an engineer in infrastructure company since one year and two months. My basic salary is KD 230/-per month. But other allowance getting upto KD 450/-month. I wish to apply for visit visa for my wife and 4-year-old son. Let me know if I am eligible to apply the visit visa for wife and son.

Name withheld

Answer: Your monthly salary of KD 230/- is below the minimum of KD 250/-required to be able to apply for a visit visa for your wife and son. The fact that you earn upto KD 450/-is of no relevance since that amount does not reflect in your work permit — a requirement for the grant of all types of visit visas.

Kindly go through our archives and refrain from sending repeated questions
Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

I am an Indian female working in the private sector on Visa 18. Before Visa 18, I was on Visa 22. My Visa 18 is valid from 8th October, 2018. This is the first visa for me from my company. For better career opportunities, I am planning to change my current job. Can I change my company now, or I have to serve for one year of my visa commencement date? Please guide me.

Name withheld

Answer: Since you were hired locally by your present company, the law stipulates that you should work for the company for at least one year before you can ask for a release if you don’t possess a university degree. If you however possess a university degree you can leave the company at any point in time provided that you give the company in question the threemonth mandatory notice period

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Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

I have a question, As per news that: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lt-Gen Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah has issued a decision to cancel residency stickers that are placed in the passports expatriates. Previously, the passport needed to be valid for one year in order to get a sticker/iqama in it. Does it means now that is enough to be valid for 6 months, like the rest of the world, or still need to be for at least one year.

Name withheld

Answer: As per the decision you quoted above, nothing was said about the validity of the passport in effecting the decision. Until a new decision is issued on passport validity vis-a-vis residence renewal, we will stick to the law as we know it to be and that is at least one-year passport validity before any renewal can take place

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Actually I am on a project visa. And a degree holder from India, I would like to change my visa to company visa, is it possible, how can I change it.

Name withheld

Answer: Under current regulations governing transfer of visas, you can transfer only to another government project of the same sponsor or another government project of a different sponsor if the current project has been completed or to the general file of the current sponsor. May we also add that there is a fee of KD 300 for transfer from one government project, on its completion to another government project with a different sponsor.

A transfer to another government project of the same sponsor will attract a fee of KD 200. Another possibility you can take advantage of is to pay a fee of KD 350 to transfer your work permit to the main file of the same sponsor ie., if he has no objection to that under this scenario, you could ultimately, land if the sponsor gives the green light in a private sector company in this way. In short, there is no direct or easy way to changing a project visa to company visa. In addition, having a university degree plays no role in effecting such a change even if it is possible.

Kindly go through our archives and refrain from sending repeated questions
Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]