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Kuwait to introduce monthly health fee for all visitors
A monthly health fee of KD50 may be imposed on all visitors to Kuwait, which could increase further with the duration of the visit, according to a feasibility study carried out by the General Department of Immigration of the Interior Ministry.
The revenues, so obtained, will be used in building hospitals in all six governorates of Kuwait to offer medical treatment to expatriates.
According to a recent study, the department proposes to charge a fee of KD50 on each visit visa for each month of the visit. This is because, the study revealed that majority of expats who visit Kuwait under sponsorship of their relatives, are actually visiting to receive medical treatment for free, as the current system does not charge them for medical insurance.
The new hospitals are hoped to reduce crowds at government hospitals, which will be restricted to Kuwaitis alone. At present, the expats only pay a symobilic fee through revenue stamps on visa applications.
There are also plans to increase the fee in proportion to duration of visit. For instance, a stay of two months could result in charge of KD100 for two months, and KD120 for three months and so on.
The sources revealed that the proposed fee could stand as a health insurance premium to visitors. The visitors could seek for extension when applying for work visas.
Such a measure is largely aimed as, Kuwait does not benefit financially from visitors, and applying such a fee would contribute in the form of non-oil revenues.
Kuwait currently has an expat population of two million, mainly bachelors, including domestic workers. This constitutes nearly two-thirds of the total population in the country, which could be a major additional burden on the state budget.
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