Kuwait: The Ministry of Interior announced an updated residency regulation on Sunday, November 23, which introduced increased visa fees, new stay categories, and stricter rules for dependents and domestic workers.
The sweeping reforms, among the most significant in years, will take effect on December 23.
The new law raises visa fees across most categories. The Interior Ministry has confirmed a minimum salary requirement of Kuwaiti dinars 800 for family residency and increased the annual fee for sponsoring dependents other than spouses and children to Kuwaiti dinars 300.
Revised changes will also affect long-term resident schemes for investors and property owners.
Entry visas, residency permits, renewals, and transfers will now follow a more streamlined fee structure designed to simplify procedures while increasing government revenue.
The executive regulations outlined extensive provisions for all visa categories. They include work visas (government, private, and oil sector), medical treatment visas, family visit visas, study visas, tourist visas, and domestic worker visas.
Updated regulations mean updated penalty tables for overstaying visitors, with fines that are now calculated daily and capped according to the visa type.
New visit visa fee and residency fees
A Kuwaiti dinar 10 fee will now apply to all types of visits and entry visas, including tourists, family, business, medical, work or residency.
Most visits are declared valid for three months and can be renewed once for the same period, for a maximum duration of one year. Meanwhile, multiple-entry visit visas may be valid for up to one year, but each stay is limited to a maximum of one month.
Residency permit fees have also been updated to show the type of residency and the sponsor’s status.
Private and government sector work permits will cost Kuwaiti dinars 20 per year, while investor residencies are to pay Kuwaiti dinars 50 a year.
Kuwaiti-sponsored domestic workers will pay an annual fee of Kuwaiti dinars 10, whereas the new self-sponsor category, intended for foreigners with independent income, requires a yearly payment of Kuwaiti dinars 20.
What does Kuwait visa look like for dependents?
The dependent visa fee will also depend on the sponsor’s residency type. For sponsors working in the government or private sector, the fee is Kuwaiti dinars 20 per dependent, Kuwaiti dinars 40 per dependent for investors or religious workers. Kuwaiti dinars 100 per dependent fee will apply for property owners.
Special categories such as children of Kuwaiti mothers, spouses of Kuwaiti citizens, and children of citizens will receive reduced or waived fees to ensure that the new charges do not unfairly burden families and vulnerable groups.
According to The Khaleej Times, the reforms are designed to modernise Kuwait’s residency framework and align it with the evolving social and economic needs, while providing a unified set of rules for all entry visas and residency categories.
Domestic helper limits and fees under new rules
Kuwait’s updated residency regulations set clear limits on how many domestic helpers a household can employ:
- Families with up to 6 members: Maximum of 3 helpers
- Families with 6–9 members: Maximum of 4 helpers
- Families with more than 9 members: Maximum of 5 helpers
Annual renewal fees for domestic workers sponsored by Kuwaiti families are Kuwaiti dinars 10 per worker.
Additional helpers come with higher charges. For Kuwaiti families, the first extra helper costs Kuwaiti dinars 50, with the fee rising by Kuwaiti dinars 50 for each extra helper.
For expat families, the annual base fee for two helpers is Kuwaiti dinars 50. However, the first extra helper costs Kuwaiti dinars 400, the second Kuwaiti dinars 500 and so on.
The first two helpers for diplomats cost Kuwaiti dinars 10 per year. Then, the first additional helper costs Kuwaiti dinars 100, the second Kuwaiti dinars 200, and so on.
Domestic helpers must also be at least 21 years old and no older than 60 years old, unless the minister grants an exemption.
Temporary residence
The new bylaws set a monthly fee of Kuwaiti dinars 10 for temporary residency (Article 14) for all categories, except domestic workers, who will pay Kuwaiti dinars 5 per month. The same Kuwaiti dinars 10 monthly fee applies to extensions of temporary residency.
Foreigners who cancel their residency and intend to leave the country permanently must also pay a Kuwaiti dinars 10 monthly fee for the designated departure period.
Investors meeting the ministry’s and investment authority’s conditions can obtain investor residencies with a written annual fee of Kuwaiti dinars 50.
Overstays and violations
The new regulations refined several violations, such as:
- Failure to obtain residency after entry on a residency-type visa
- Failing to inform of birth registration on time
- Expiry of residency without departure, and overstaying visit visas.
Under the new schedule, daily fines apply, starting at Kuwaiti dinars 2 per day for initial late payments and increasing in later stages. Maximum penalties depend on the nature of the violation, with settlements ranging from hundreds to thousands of dinars.
Deportation
Administrative deportation, meaning authorities can order a foreign national to leave the country without waiting for the residency to expire. However, under the new rules, this can be ordered even if their residency permit is still valid.
Having a valid residency does not guarantee protection from deportation if any of the given conditions are met.
