Kuwait on Friday introduced significant revisions to the application process for dependent visas, effective from Sunday, Gulf News reported.

The updated regulations, announced by the ministry of interior will now require expatriates wishing to reunite with families to meet more requirements.

According to the new regulation, effective Sunday, January 28, the salary cap for eligibility for the dependent visa has been hiked to 800 Kuwaiti dinars.

The move is aimed at ensuring that applicants have ample finances to support their dependents or family.

Likewise, the expatriates will also be required to hold a university degree and to ensure that their occupational field in Kuwait aligns with their academic qualifications.

The Kuwaiti government has tightened the visa rules and expatriates’ entry and stay in the country in recent times.

On January 21, the government decided to deport illegal expatriates after halting a short-lived decree of fine-for-amnesty scheme.

Read: Kuwait govt announces over 1,000 jobs openings

The decree allowed illegal expatriates who came to the country before 2020 to change their status in return for paying specific fines.

“The Interior Ministry is going ahead with its plan to deport violators of residency rules from the country as was the case over the past period,” a security source was quoted as saying.