Application for Residence
The actual application for an iqama is made at the Immigration and Passport Department of the Ministry of the Interior in Shuwaikh . First time applicants for residence must bring along the following documents in the form of both originals and photocopies:

  - declaration on the prescribed form completed and signed by the sponsor
  - passport
  - work permit
  - NOC
  - medical certificate
  - security clearance (fingerprint) certificate

Four passport size photographs are also required. A maximum of five years residence can be granted. The fee is KD10 per year of residence, with an additional KD2 in the first year. If the sponsor is a government organisation then, by law, the employee must bear the cost. If the sponsor is a private company the cost is a matter of negotiation between the sponsor and the employee.

Renewing Residence
After the initial residence has expired it can be renewed, provided the expatriate intends to continue under the same sponsor. Renewal is a fairly simple matter. Applications are made at the jawazaat in Shuwaikh and the process should be started a month before the expiry of the current residence.
  
Medical tests are not required on renewal. However the employee's work permit must first be renewed with the Ministry of Social Affairs & Labour. The application for renewal must be supported by:

 - the employee's passport and a copy of it,
 - the renewed work permit, and
 - a copy of the sponsor's signature as required for business purposes.

Normally the sponsor or his official 'mandoub' will attend at the jawazaat to renew the employee's iqama. Where the employee does so himself, he must have a letter from his sponsor authorising him to do so.

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