Kuwait visa and entry requirements

The visa

• Everyone needs a visa except GCC citizens. Most Western and East Asian passports can get one on arrival at Kuwait International, or apply online through the Kuwait Ministry of Interior portal beforehand.
• Applying online is the safer route if there is any doubt, because it surfaces a problem before you are at a desk in Kuwait.
• Your passport must be valid at least 6 months after arrival.

The place-of-birth rule

• British citizens born in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria or Yemen are not eligible for a visa on arrival and must apply in advance.
• This is about where you were born, not what passport you hold. It catches British, and other, citizens who have never thought of themselves as anything else.
• If it applies to you, allow real time - it is a consular application, not a formality.

At the border

• A return or onward ticket must be shown.
• Proof of accommodation, such as a hotel booking.
• Declare cash or travellers cheques of 3,000 Kuwaiti dinars or more.

The medicines rule - do this before you fly

• All visitors must obtain permission from the Kuwaiti authorities to carry certain prescription drugs before arrival. This is the FCDO's account of a rule that is newer than most published advice.
• Many common medications need this authorisation - not just obvious controlled substances.
• It is a pre-departure task with a lead time. Check your prescription against Kuwait's requirements weeks ahead, and carry the permission with the medicine and the prescription.
• Turning up with an unauthorised drug is not a paperwork problem at this border.

What you absolutely cannot bring

• Alcohol. Kuwait prohibits it outright - importing, buying, selling, carrying it, and public intoxication all carry fines, imprisonment and deportation. Do not buy duty-free on the way.
• Narcotics, pork and pork products, pornographic material, gambling machines.