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Visitors to Kuwait must obtain a visa unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or countries eligible for visa on arrival/eVisa. All visitors except GCC citizens must hold a passport valid for 6 months.
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Visa exemption
Citizens of the following countries do not require a visa to visit Kuwait and may use National ID Cards to enter the country:
Nationals of China holding normal passports endorsed for public affairs do not require a visa.
Holders of diplomatic or official passports of Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Cyprus, China, Egypt, Honduras, Ireland, Malta, Mongolia, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and Vietnam and just diplomatic passports of Armenia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Tajikistan and Ukraine also do not require a visa.
An agreement between Kuwait and Uzbekistan on mutual visa-free visits for holders of diplomatic passports was signed in February 2017 and is yet to be ratified.
An agreement between Kuwait and Germany on mutual visa-free visits for holders of diplomatic and service passports was signed in March 2017 and is yet to be ratified.
Visa on arrival/eVisa
Citizens of the following 52 countries and territories may obtain a visa valid for 3 months on arrival to Kuwait if arriving by air or they may obtain an eVisa before arrival:
1 - Except Croatia.
Visa can also be obtained on arrival valid for one month for those holding a confirmation from a transporting carrier and are travelling for tourism purposes.
Passengers arriving by sea or land must obtain visa in advance.
Residents of GCC countries belonging to designated professions may also obtain a visa online.
Entry ban
Nationals of Ethiopia, are barred from entering Kuwait.
From 2011 until at least 2014, Kuwait also banned entry from Afghanistan, Bangladesh (ordinary passport holders), Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
In May 2016, Kuwait put a temporary visa ban on religious personalities deemed "controversial", while also planning to limit visits by people from specific countries to Kuwait during Ramadan, particularly the Syrians, Jordanians, Iraqis and Yemenis, according to Al-Rai daily.
After President of the United States Donald Trump's Executive Order 13769 which barred the nationals of Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya, several news sites published stories about a similar ban. Kuwait's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied that they currently ban travel from those countries, however, the Kuwaiti Ministry has a history of denying any such bans on these particular countries, instead claiming "restrictions" on nationals who are almost never granted visas.
Additionally entry and transit is refused to Israeli citizens.