Dependents medical insurance linking with residence

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First of all thanks for the advice the Arab Times is providing the readers via legal clinic as it’s really helpful for us.

I would like to ask one question regarding my daughter’s residency. I am working in private company and I have valid residency (Article 18) up to 30 November 2016 while my daughter’s residency is expiring on March 1, 2016 (she is on a dependent visa and I am her sponsor).

Normally I used to pay medical insurance for one year and used to renew my daughter’s residency every year for a year but as per new law now I can’t do that because this time my daughter’s residence validity will overlap my residence validity.

So what are my options now? And how much will I have to pay for insurance and is the Immigration Department stamping the residence for less than a year?

Name withheld
Answer: Your daughter’s residence will only be stamped until the date for the expiry of your residence, i.e. Nov 30, 2016 and not beyond that point because now the Ministry of Interior (through the Immigration Department) has linked the validity of the dependents residence to the residence of their sponsor. And yes, the Immigration Department has started stamping the residence of a dependent for less than a year.

So, in your case, the residence of your daughter will initially be renewed until Nov 30, 2016 and once you have renewed your residence your daughter’s residence will be re-stamped until the expiry date of you’re your new residence.

In this regard, you have to remember two vital things:

1. Make sure that your passport is not expiring before the expiry of your residence otherwise your residence will again expire — and along with that the residence of your daughter — on the expiry of the passport. In such a case renew your passport before you get the new residence.

2. Please make sure that you get an Article 14 residence (temporary residence) for your daughter if there is a gap between the expiry of your residence and stamping of the new one otherwise your daughter’s stay for that duration would be termed illegal for which you will have to pay KD 2 per day.

On the payment of health insurance, neither the Interior Ministry nor the Health Department has addressed this issue but an earlier decision says that every time you get new residence you have to get new insurance.

You will, however, forfeit only the insurance for the year for which you have used up even a part of the duration.

For example, if you got health insurance for two years and had to renew the residence after 7 months, you will be considered to have used up the insurance for one whole year and have one year of insurance in balance.

So, once you go to get the residence renewal the year of health insurance balance can be used to get residence for another year. And if you have to get residence for two years, then you will be required to pay health insurance only for the additional year.

This news has been read 8248 times!