Facilitation of Schengen Visas for Kuwait is a High Priority.

Facilitating Schengen visas for Kuwaiti passport holders is one of the top priorities for EU Ambassador to Kuwait Anne Koistinen in the coming months.

Ambassador Koistinen emphasized that Kuwait is a trustworthy friend and that the EU cherishes the nation for it during a meeting with representatives of the local media.

The same assured Kuwait that it could rely on the EU, but it made no mention of when Kuwaiti citizens should be able to obtain visas.

While emphasizing that the European Union is dedicated to cooperating with Kuwait during its rotating presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Ambassador Koistinen also stated that 2025 is a crucial year for the EU-Kuwait relationship, according to Arab Times.

Kuwait is working to reach an agreement with the EU to liberalize visas.

All Kuwaiti passport holders must currently apply for a Schengen visa in order to be allowed access into the EU.

Kuwait has been working for some time to negotiate a visa-free travel agreement with the EU in order to make travel to the bloc easier and less complicated for its citizens.

In September of last year, Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Yahya stated that discussions on the subject are still in progress. The Minister added that until an agreement is achieved, the nation’s officials are searching for other ways to resolve the visa problem.

The Minister did not specify what these options would be, but it is thought that one of them is to request that the EU ease some of the requirements for applying for a visa.

Each year, a significant number of Kuwaiti nationals applied for Schengen visas. According to data released by SchengenVisaInfo, 179,444 visa applications were submitted by Kuwaiti nationals in 2023 alone.

166,598 Kuwaiti passport holders received the document out of this total, while 12,069 had their application for a Schengen visa denied.

France, Germany, and Italy are the top three Schengen nations that issued the most visas to Kuwaitis in 2023. The number of Schengen visas issued to Kuwaitis by these three nations was 38,127, 33,817, and 30,224, respectively.