Nationals from 5 Muslim-majority countries are said to be banned from Kuwait, but the government denied this claim.
2 February 2017
| Last updated on 16 June 2017
Last week, news emerged online that the Kuwaiti government has followed in United States President Donald Trump’s footsteps and has possibly put a ban on nationals from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan... But unlike the United States, this wasn't 'new' news for Kuwait.
Nationals from these five countries have reportedly not been able to obtain visit, tourism or trade visas to Kuwait since 2011.
However, Kuwait's foreign ministry denied the media report, following a post on Trump’s official Facebook page praising the ban. In a statement to state news agecy KUNA, a ministry spokesperson said that Kuwait “categorically denies these claims and affirms that these reported nationalities ... have big communities in Kuwait and enjoy full rights.”
It seems the news has re-emerged online following the recent chaos caused by President Trump's amended policies, and Kuwait's reasoning behind the restrictions from over 6 years ago isn't too dissimilar to the President's; the possible migration of terrorists. In the newly-circulated media reports, security conditions in those countries were said to be the reason behind this blanket visa ban.
SEE ALSO: 8 reasons why Kuwait was named worst country for expats
Prior to this and even before the U.S. #MuslimBan, Kuwait was the only nation to prohibit Syrian nationals from entry to the country since 2011.
Following this update, Pakistan’s ambassador to Kuwait, Ghulam Dastagir, also denied it and said that the news about this ban is baseless, referring to similar rumours in 2011.
