Expat Students staying over 6 months out of Kuwait need exemption permission

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I am one of your readers of the Legal Clinic column as it offers a lot of help to us – expatriates. Kindly advise and let me know what are the requirements and procedures for my two daughters who are currently in the Philippines and cannot come back to Kuwait before six (6) months due to their school schedule exams. Please note that they have a valid residence visa up to May 2017.

Name withheld

Answer: For the children to stay over six months out of the country you have to apply for exemption for this purpose from the Immigration Department. According to the rules, normally such permission is granted to children who are studying in a third country but the Immigration Department is now a little lenient in this regard and regularly gives permission for children who are studying in their own country.

You must also remember that this permission/exemption to remain out of Kuwait for over six months must be obtained before completion of the six months. It won’t be granted after this period, even if you exceed this period by one-minute.

All you need is a certificate from your children’s school saying that your children are studying in that school and are to have their exams as a result of which they can’t travel out of the country for a certain period. You must get this certificate endorsed by the Philippines Foreign Ministry in your country, the Philippines Embassy in Kuwait and the Kuwait Foreign Ministry in Shuwaikh (after getting a translation done of the document).

Attach this certificate to an application, along with two photos each of your children, and submit it to the Immigration Department in your area. You should have no difficulty in getting the exemption. Sometimes the Immigration Department gives this extension for the period you seek and sometimes they department will grant you the permission for the whole duration of their visa period.

This news has been read 20918 times!