The Foreign Minister of Kuwait, Abdullah Al-Yahya, has revealed that there are several ongoing talks to finalise the Schengen visa liberalisation agreement – a long-lasting goal of the Kuwaiti government.
According to the local Kuwaiti media, the Minister noted that the upcoming Gulf-European summit, which is expected to take place in Brussels by the middle of October, will address the issue with the authorities, Schengen.News reports.
Meanwhile, the Minister said that he is working to find efficient ways and alternatives to solve issues until the agreement is settled.
Kuwaitis File Thousands of Schengen Visa Applications Every Year
According to statistics published, Kuwaiti nationals have filed 179,444 visa applications in 2023. In total. 166,598 visas were granted, but the authorities rejected 12069.
The average approval rate for Kuwaiti applications is one of the highest among third-country nationals, as 92.8 per cent of their requests were approved.
France is the most popular destination for Kuwaiti applicants, as 40,712 visa requests were filed. The second to follow is Germany, with 35,611 and Italy with 31,142 applications.
As per approval rates, Italy had the highest rates, approving 97.10 per cent of all visas. Germany followed second with 95 per cent and France with 94.9 per cent, ranking third for the highest approval rates for Kuwaiti visa applicants.
On the bottom of the list are Norway (72.2 per cent), Belgium (84.4 per cent) and Croatia (85.3 per cent), approving far fewer visas than the Schengen average of 92.8 per cent.
Schengen Countries Already Issue 5-Year Multiple-Entry Visas to Kuwaitis
As of September 8, 2023, Kuwaiti nationals are subject to facilitations for Schengen visas, as the EU Commission has adopted easier visa rules for this nationality.
Under the facilitated visa rules that the Commission has adopted, Kuwaitis applying for Schengen visas are eligible to be issued multiple entry visas within the five-year period.
All applicants from Kuwait, including first-time applicants, can be granted a multiple-entry valid visa for five years, considering their passport validity allows it.
In 2023, Germany granted the highest number of multiple entry visas for Kuwaiti nationals – a total of 153,608 out of 435,623 that were issued by all Schengen states. Italy and France followed with 85,005 and 53,106, respectively.
Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia had the lowest numbers of MEVs granted to Kuwaitis – 251, 250 and 34.
