The Online Kuwait Visa expires after 30 days. If a visitor stays in the country for longer than this duration they will have overstayed and will need to pay a fine.
Thankfully, the consequences of exceeding the time limit of stay in Kuwait are not criminal. You would not spend time in prison or face deportation. However, you would not be allowed to leave the country until the fine was paid.
There are numerous reasons why overstaying a Kuwait Visa might be necessary. If this is the case it is important to be aware of how much this will cost you. In addition, there are alternatives which allow you to avoid the fine.
Visitors can renew their Kuwait Visa either online (if they are outside the country) or do it from within the country by submitting an application to the immigration department. This allows you to avoid the fine for visa expiry in Kuwait.
The Kuwaiti Visa overstay penalty
The fine for overstaying your tourist visa in Kuwait is KD10 (roughly $US33) per day. You cannot leave the country until the fine is paid. The overstay fine in Kuwait needs to be paid at the Immigration Department in Shuwaikh.
If you know the day you need to leave you can pay the fine in advance, saving the last minute rush on the day of your flight. The office is open during normal working hours. You cannot pay fines at the airport.
Alternatively, there are different ways to extend your Kuwait Visa which allow you to avoid the fine for visa expiry in Kuwait.
How to extend your Kuwait Visa
If you know you are going to overstay your Kuwait Online visa, there are two different ways of getting your Kuwait visa extended. You can renew your Kuwait Online Visa or you can apply for an extension at the Immigration Department.
Applying for a Kuwait Online Visa renewal
Renewing a Kuwait eVisa is only possible if you are outside of the country. If you are in Kuwait it is possible to fly to Bahrain and back in the same day as the flight is only 40 minutes.
The process for renewing a Kuwait eVisa is as quick and straightforward as the original application. It can sometimes be even quicker as the security screening has already been performed. It takes just a few minutes and there are only a couple of minor differences on the Kuwait Visa application form:
- You must indicate that you have previously been to Kuwait when prompted (be selecting ‘Yes’).
- You must provide the reference number of your previous Kuwait eVisa when asked.
Overstaying your tourist visa in Kuwait: Visa extension from the Immigration Department
Applying for a visa extension in Kuwait is possible but not as simple as applying for the original visa. Visitors can apply for a one month extension of the Kuwait online visa by completing an application at the Immigration Department before their visa expires.
