Having health insurance is mandatory for most countries, especially for those who are on short-stay visits or short-term residency for work in the country. However, with the recent changes on regulations including expat health insurance, many lawmakers are now exploring means on how to effectively address the entry of foreign visitors in the country as well as the increasing burden on the government’s public services.
One of the solutions that was floated at the National Assembly a couple of years ago was to require health insurance that will cover the duration of all foreign visitors’ stay in the country, especially those who are on short-term visits.
Kuwaiti Lawmakers to Discuss Imposing Health Fees on Foreign Visitors
After the national holidays, the National Assembly will once again convene for a regular session to discuss a draft law which stipulates the imposing of health charges on foreign nationals visiting the country, as shared in a report by the Kuwait Times.
The draft law maintains that foreigners who arrive in Kuwait on short visits as well as those who obtain temporary residence permits are obliged to obtain health insurance covering the duration of their stay in Kuwait.
Furthermore, the bill which has been developed and presented by the health committee over two years ago, also stipulates that the Interior Ministry will not issue a visit visa or a temporary residence permit unless applicants provide documents of their health insurance.
It can be recalled that back in 2017, the ministry has sharply increased the health charges on medical services provided to expats, and while Health Minister Sheikh Dr Basel Al-Sabah looked at the possibility of reconsidering the structure of these charges, hinting a possible reduction of some of them, nothing has happened since then.
And while the benefits of having a personal health insurance when traveling to another country such as Kuwait has its benefits, this will obviously hurt foreign visitors in the pockets, especially family members who wish to visit a parent, or a partner working in Kuwait.