The figure that separates a traveller who walks through from one who is stopped at the crossing is three thousand dinars. Carry more than that and you must declare it; carry less and nothing is required of you.
What the text says
The General Administration of Customs bases the service on law 106 of 2013 on money laundering and terrorist financing, and its executive regulation. It provides that everyone entering or leaving the country through Kuwait’s various crossings must declare to the customs authorities any currency or negotiable bearer instruments in their possession, where the value exceeds three thousand dinars or the equivalent in any foreign currency.
Three points people miss
One: the rule runs both ways. The text names those entering and those leaving in a single sentence. Going out with the money triggers the declaration exactly as coming in does.
Two: it is not only what is on you. Money you send with a traveller or inside a parcel falls under the same rule.
Three: it is not only cash. “Negotiable bearer instruments” is broader than notes, and covers anything payable to whoever holds it.
And declaring is not prohibition
Many people confuse the two. The rule sets no ceiling on what you may carry; it sets a duty to tell. Going over three thousand is allowed. Concealing it is the offence.
How to declare
Customs has an online service called electronic cash declaration on its services platform, with a quick reference and a guidance video, so the process does not have to start in the queue on arrival. The same platform has a separate service for declaring cross-border currency transfers.
Enquiries: the customs switchboard on 24955000, and cs.support@customs.gov.kw.
Photo: a wallet and coins. By Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: the electronic cash declaration service page at the General Administration of Customs.
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