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Residence permits by type/ purpose of permit and country of citizenship of holder (2012)

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  14 17 18 19 20 22 23 24  
Country of citizenship Temporary permits Governmental sector permits Private sector permits Business Domestic help Dependant permits Study Self residence permits TOTAL
ARAB COUNTRIES  
Iraq 100 195 4.086 6 79 10.484 0 312 15.262
Syria 1.681 5.257 52.115 78 302 75.845 3 273 135.554
Lebanon 481 1.095 17.492 49 29 23.301 3 136 42.586
Jordan 613 2.720 17.733 30 19 33.752 3 211 55.081
Yemen 104 882 4.193 0 383 5.167 2 31 10.762
Palestine 1 2 20 0 0 556 0 0 579
Algeria 18 58 256 1 1 509 1 1 845
Egypt 14.092 46.077 283.172 30 1.490 137.500 12 319 482.692
Morocco 78 206 1.535 0 50 1.594 0 32 3.495
Tunisia 82 897 889 0 6 984 3 2 2.863
Libya 1 21 18 0 0 108 1 0 149
Palestinian from Egypt 61 199 2.522 2 0 3.262 0 107 6.153
Palestinian from Lebanon 6 29 429 1 5 481 0 11 962
Palestinian from Syria 2 12 156 0 3 194 0 5 372
Palestinian from Iraq 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 3
Non-Kuwaiti 0 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 6
Saudi 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Total 17.320 57.650 384.619 197 2.367 293.744 28 1.440 757.365
ASIA  
Afghanistan 362 127 9.471 4 653 3.044 23 5 13.689
Uzbekistan 1 29 18 0 0 65 0 1 114
Kyrgyzstan 3 7 18 0 0 23 7 0 58
Tajikstan 0 6 3 0 0 19 6 0 34
Kazakhstan 0 0 13 0 0 21 0 0 34
Mongolia 0 4 0 0 2 7 3 0 16
Turkey 124 65 1.287 0 7 786 1 2 2.272
Iran 510 708 24.261 51 508 16.365 5 230 42.638
Malaysia 5 41 120 0 0 253 22 0 441
Japan 4 27 35 1 0 54 5 0 126
Indonesia 139 701 1.338 0 10.668 1.177 9 4 14.036
Philippines 2.435 3.542 54.126 1 93.761 7.795 31 51 161.742
Pakistan 2.414 2.661 85.933 19 2.447 26.512 31 23 120.040
India 14.148 20.846 312.449 43 252.168 92.805 16 50 692.525
China 705 101 2.792 0 2 287 15 1 3.903
Taiwan 0 5 2 0 0 4 8 0 19
South Korea 115 15 738 0 0 243 7 0 1.118
Singapore 0 11 12 0 0 19 16 1 59
Bangladesh 4.737 6.725 114.379 4 57.377 6.936 9 4 190.171
Thailand 173 93 1.968 0 6 177 41 5 2.463
Sri Lanka 2.147 595 18.763 0 84.049 4.270 24 12 109.860
Nepal 1.578 211 24.897 0 28.545 254 1 0 55.486
Bhutan 0 5 4 0 1 13 0 0 23
North Korea 492 7 3.058 0 0 11 3 0 3.571
Vietnam 66 6 496 0 13 17 0 0 598
Cambodia 0 8 0 0 1 4 34 0 47
Myanmar 15 4 323 0 2 5 0 0 349
Other Asian Nationalities 1 6 46 0 1 28 5 0 87
Total 30.174 36.556 656.550 123 530.211 161.194 322 389 1.415.519
EUROPE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
Britain 70 224 2.134 1 3 1.724 1 20 4.177
Ireland 4 12 112 0 0 84 0 1 213
France 10 149 299 1 0 444 2 3 908
Holland 4 9 114 1 0 163 0 1 292
Belgium 1 9 45 0 0 39 0 0 94
Italy 14 30 196 0 0 160 2 3 405
Malta 0 1 16 0 0 6 0 0 23
Sweden 3 8 85 0 0 170 0 2 268
Norway 0 7 19 1 0 30 0 0 57
Switzerland 1 11 16 0 0 18 0 0 46
Austria 0 15 30 0 0 60 0 2 107
Germany 13 41 219 3 0 268 5 3 552
Spain 10 24 83 0 0 81 2 1 201
Portugal 4 7 85 0 2 40 0 0 138
Denmark 2 5 80 0 0 109 2 0 198
Greece 16 9 65 0 1 46 0 0 137
Cyprus 2 2 13 0 0 16 0 0 33
Czech Republic 0 21 27 0 0 30 2 0 80
Hungary 5 18 105 0 0 86 3 0 217
Slovakia 5 18 25 0 0 54 0 0 102
Finland 0 4 9 0 0 18 0 0 31
Lithuania 0 1 6 0 1 7 0 0 15
Poland 6 24 104 0 0 116 5 2 257
Russia and USSR 12 137 153 0 1 442 5 3 753
Ukraine 8 19 79 0 0 197 0 0 303
Moldova 4 0 20 0 0 9 0 0 33
Belarus 1 1 19 0 0 37 0 0 58
Bosnia-Herzegovina 3 41 93 0 0 68 9 0 214
Macedonia 3 6 37 0 0 19 3 0 68
Croatia 4 6 33 0 0 15 0 0 58
Serbia 12 19 101 0 0 79 0 0 211
Yugoslavia 0 6 55 1 0 42 0 0 104
Romania 50 39 300 0 1 227 0 0 617
Bulgaria 5 198 162 0 0 124 4 0 493
Albania 2 6 12 0 0 46 2 0 68
Kosovo 1 6 4 0 0 12 0 0 23
Armenia 9 8 130 0 0 97 2 0 246
Georgia 11 5 55 0 0 26 2 0 99
Azerbaidjan 1 7 13 0 0 45 0 0 66
Other European Nationalities 0 8 38 1 0 28 0 0 75
Total 296 1.161 5.191 9 9 5.282 51 41 12.040
AFRICA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
Ethiopia 1.197 62 3.154 0 72.594 266 2 4 77.279
Eritrea 10 107 259 0 202 545 3 9 1.135
Sudan 185 227 2.759 0 348 1.022 3 7 4.551
Senegal 5 35 27 0 11 60 45 0 183
Gambia 0 3 5 0 4 7 18 0 37
Guinea 0 2 16 0 1 19 9 0 47
Mauritania 13 51 12 0 4 56 6 0 142
Mali 3 2 14 0 42 12 21 0 94
Niger 1 17 36 0 0 63 22 0 139
Burkina Faso 1 2 9 0 1 9 20 0 42
Benin 6 17 36 0 3 37 59 0 158
Liberia 0 20 56 0 3 116 0 5 200
Sierra Leone 31 13 46 0 5 27 0 0 122
Togo 2 6 14 0 40 10 9 0 81
Ivory Coast 0 0 10 0 8 9 6 0 33
Nigeria 10 111 126 0 4 233 63 0 547
South Africa 30 64 344 0 1 195 0 1 635
Swaziland 1 7 1 0 0 12 0 0 21
Zimbabwe 10 6 31 0 1 24 0 0 72
Chad 1 11 76 0 7 55 12 0 162
Cameroon 0 0 17 0 1 3 3 0 24
Somalia 117 374 962 0 36 2.125 38 9 3.661
Djibouti 0 9 10 0 1 23 6 0 49
Madagascar 22 0 1 0 1.199 3 0 0 1.225
Mauritius 19 3 4 0 2 8 5 0 41
Ghana 27 15 395 0 297 43 14 0 791
Uganda 4 3 18 0 239 12 4 0 280
Malawi 0 10 0 0 0 15 0 0 25
Tanzania 1 7 25 0 1 22 13 0 69
Kenya 5 27 122 0 9 96 2 0 261
Comore Islands 1 4 31 0 1 28 12 1 78
Seychelles Islands 1 2 4 0 1 9 0 0 17
Other African Nationalities 1 20 29 0 3 59 11 0 123
Total 1.704 1.237 8.649 0 75.069 5.223 406 36 92.324
AMERICA AND OCEANIA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  
U.S.A 449 586 7.207 9 4 4.987 5 20 13.267
Canada 68 290 2.326 9 1 3.796 7 33 6.530
Dominican Republic 4 22 77 0 1 179 0 2 285
Venezuela 2 9 88 0 0 125 0 0 224
Colombia 1 2 47 0 0 43 0 1 94
Trinidad and Tobago 1 0 11 0 0 12 0 0 24
Granada 0 6 4 0 0 7 0 0 17
Jamaica 0 4 7 0 1 5 0 0 17
Mexico 2 3 13 0 0 42 0 0 60
Brasil 24 16 71 0 0 86 0 1 198
Bolivia 0 2 12 0 0 40 0 1 55
Peru 1 4 7 0 0 7 0 0 19
Ecuador 0 0 8 0 0 12 0 1 21
Argentina 5 4 53 0 0 25 0 1 88
Australia 9 49 351 0 0 645 0 4 1.058
New Zealand 9 5 121 0 0 175 0 1 311
Fiji Islands 2 6 43 0 0 5 0 0 56
Other American and Oceanian Nationalities 3 13 39 0 3 52 0 1 111
Total 580 1.021 10.485 18 10 10.243 13 66 22.436
U.N. 0 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 6
Unknown Nationalities 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
GRAND TOTAL 50.074 97.629 1.065.494 347 607.667 475.688 820 1.972 2.299.691

Source: Ministry of Interior

 

 

ANNEXED NOTE

 

1. Definitions

 

Residency procedures do not apply to GCC nationals.

 

The bidoun, a stateless population, are not included in the residency documents holders.

 

Data presented in the table are stock data: all the non-national residents holding a residence permit on December 31st, the given year. The table excludes the Bedoon, the non-Kuwaiti GCC citizens and those in irregular situation.

 

Temporary permit: An expatriate may be granted temporary residence under article 14 of the immigration regulations in special cases where he does not need or cannot get ordinary residence.

This allows the expatriate to stay for up to one year, for personal emergencies such as illness, or after resignation from employment in order to settle financial affairs or a court case.

Dependent permit: spouse, children or elderly dependent relatives can join visa holder (sponsor) in Kuwait, if the expatriate has obtained a residency and is earning a minimum of KD250 a month (private and governement sector alike).

A working wife cannot sponsor her husband as a dependent. Also, sons over the age of 21 years cannot be sponsored as dependants, though adult daughters and parents may be permitted. Dependent family members are not allowed to work on a Dependent Visa, unless they transfer it into a work visa under Kuwaiti sponsorship. This can be done only after 6 to 12 months of holding a dependent visa.

Every children including new born babies must hold a residency permit. The application for the infant’s residence must be made within 60 days of the birth

The Dependent Visa holder is permitted to stay as long as the sponsor holds a valid visa.

Self residence permit: Expatriates may sponsor themselves under article 24 of the regulations and obtain a residence for two to five years under several conditions

(among which: being aged 60 and more, having worked no less than 25 years in Kuwait, owning a capital of 10000 KD at least; being able to produce a certificate of good conduct, being effectively residing in Kuwait with his/her family, etc.).

This form of residence can be renewed upon expiry. Self-sponsored expatriates may sponsor their wives and children.

Permits 17, 18, 19 and 20 are only granted after Ministry of Labour issues a work permit.

 

2. Institution which provides data

 

Ministry of Interior

 

3. Period of data coverage

 

December 31st, 2012

 

4. Data availability

 

Data on residence permits by country of citizenship is not published by Kuwaiti authorities (as of September 2013). The present data has been obtained from MoI.

 

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