Kuwait– Kuwait has urged European states to facilitate the granting of Schengen visas for Kuwaiti citizens.
The call was made by Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah who received at a luncheon several European ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions and charge d’affaires serving in Kuwait.
The minister called upon the diplomats to act for easing off difficulties facing the Kuwaiti nationals seeking the Schengen visa, facilitate procedures to apply for the visa, set more dates and speed up paper work.
Sheikh Salem requested that the Schengen visa for the Kuwaiti citizens be valid for several years, lauding the missions’ efforts for tackling the visa applications during the travel season and facilitating procedures for Kuwaitis traveling to the resorts in the European countries.
Kuwaiti citizens need a Schengen visa to travel to any of the 26 countries in the Schengen area. The Schengen area is a group of European countries that have agreed to allow passport-holders from one country to travel freely within the area without border controls.
The Vice-President of the European Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to the European Union, Josep Borrell said in February this year that he is keen and very much want to end the issue of exempting Kuwaitis from the requirements of the Schengen visa.
