23/11/2025
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23/11/2025
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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 23: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef issued Ministerial Decree No. 2249/2025, stipulating the executive regulations for the Foreigners’ Residence Law. The decree details the conditions and fees for all types of entry visas, as well as all matters related to visit visas, residency and services provided by the General Directorate of Residency Affairs. The decree, published Sunday in the official gazette, ‘Kuwait Al-Youm’, stipulates the following residency fees:
KD 20 for five categories;
KD 20 for five categories;
- Government sector employees (Article 17)
- Private sector employees (Article 18)
- Foreign students (Article 23)
- Stateless (Bedouns) granted residency for the first time after obtaining foreign passports, military personnel who were previously stateless and retired after obtaining foreign passports, and families of foreign martyrs (Article 30)
- Religious figures, imams and preachers of Hussainiyas (Article 31)
10 for two categories:
- Domestic worker residency and those in similar categories sponsored by Kuwaiti families (Article 20)
- Foreign widows or divorcees of Kuwaiti citizens with children (Article 28)
KD 50 for three categories:
- Foreign partner (Article 19)
- Foreign investor (Article 21)
- Foreign property owner (Article 25)
- KD 500 for foreign residents sponsoring themselves (Article 24)
Family Visa fees:
- KD 20 for spouse and children
- KD 40 for foreign partners (Article 19), foreign investors (Article 21), property owners (Article 25), and religious figures, imams and preachers of Hussainiyas (Article 31)
- KD 100 for residents sponsoring themselves (Article 24)
- KD 300 for those other than the wife and children
- KD 20 for foreign nationals who are children of Kuwaiti women who acquired citizenship through marriage to a Kuwaiti citizen
- KD 10 for foreign nationals who are wives of Kuwaiti citizens, and for foreign nationals who are husbands of Kuwaiti women (Article 26)
- Children of Kuwaiti women who are children of Kuwaiti citizens by birth (Article 27) are exempted
- KD 20 for the wives and children of illegal residents who obtained foreign passports and for retired military personnel among them
- KD 20 for the wives and children of foreign martyrs
- KD 10 for foreign children of Kuwaiti citizens
- KD 10 for foreign parents of Kuwaiti citizens
- KD 20 for foreign nationals who are wives and children of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) citizens
- KD 20 for foreign nationals who are husbands and children of GCC women
The regulations state that for an expatriate to obtain a regular residency permit to join a family member, their monthly salary must be at least KD 800.
The monthly salary is determined based on the wages earned in the profession for which the residency permit was granted. The Directorate General of Residency Affairs may grant exceptions to the salary requirement for those residing in or born within Kuwait, or for children born outside Kuwait who are under five years old and whose parents are residents of Kuwait, in accordance with the regulations.
Nine categories are exempted from the salary requirement:
- Legal researchers in the government sector
- Professors at universities, colleges and higher institutes
- Supervisors, teachers and social and psychological specialists in the government sector
- Engineers in the government and private sectors
- Imams, preachers, muezzins and Quran memorizers
- Employees of the Ministry of Health and military entities, including pharmacists, nurses, paramedics and all other medical technicians in various fields
- Employees of international news outlets, including journalists, media professionals and correspondents
- Coaches and players in government-affiliated sports federations and clubs
- Those who prepare the deceased for burial
KD 10 residence visa fee for nine categories:
- Employment in the government sector (Article 17)
- Employment in the private sector (Article 18)
- Entry for domestic workers and similar categories (Article 20)
- Engaging in commercial or industrial activities (Article 21)
- Family reunification (Article 22)
- Study (Article 23)
- Foreign investor (Article 21)
- Temporary government contract (Article 17)
- Temporary work in the oil sector (Article 18)
KD 10 for nine types of visit visas, payable per month:
- Government visit
- Commercial visit
- Family visit
- Private visit
- Medical visit
- Multiple-entry visit
- Tourist visit
- Visit for business activities
- Visits for cultural and social activities
KD 10 for three types of visas:
- Transit visa
- Entry visa for drivers of transport vehicles (trucks and buses)
- Emergency entry visa
Domestic workers:
- KD 10 for a Kuwaiti family
- KD 50 for a foreign family
The number of domestic workers is limited to three for families of six or fewer members, four for families of more than six members, and five for families of more than nine members.
An employer may be granted an additional domestic worker for each person with a disability in the family, provided this is proven by documents issued by the competent authority.
Additional Domestic Workers:
- KD 50 for the first additional domestic worker for a Kuwaiti family, and another KD 50 is added to the residency fee for each subsequent additional worker.
- KD 400 for the first additional domestic worker for a foreign family, and KD 100 for each subsequent additional worker
- KD 100 for the first additional domestic worker sponsored by a diplomat, and another KD 100 for each subsequent additional worker
- KD 50 residency renewal fee per year
Additional domestic worker residency fees are waived in cases where the residency is transferred from a deceased, divorced, incapacitated, imprisoned or convicted head of household (or those with court rulings preventing them from sponsoring domestic workers) to a family member (spouse or unmarried children), subject to regulations set by the Directorate General of Residency Affairs.
Fees are determined for nationals of countries that are party to bilateral agreements with the State of Kuwait, in accordance with the provisions of such agreements.
Fees for citizens of certain countries are determined based on the principle of reciprocity.
The following are the fees for temporary residency, departure notices and visit extensions:
- Temporary residency (Article 14): KD per month for domestic workers and KD 10 per month for all other categories
- Departure notice (Article 34): KD 10 per month
- Visit extension (Article 15): KD 10 per month.
- Change of nationality: KD 10
- Absence permit outside Kuwait: KD 5 per month, except for three categories --
Spouses of Kuwaiti citizens,
Parents of Kuwaiti citizens, and
Domestic workers sponsored by Kuwaiti citizens.
Spouses of Kuwaiti citizens,
Parents of Kuwaiti citizens, and
Domestic workers sponsored by Kuwaiti citizens.
The categories classified as ‘employer’ are as follows:
- Head of a Kuwaiti family consisting of a husband and wife or multiple wives,
- Head of a Kuwaiti family consisting of a widowed or divorced father and his children residing with him
- Elderly Kuwaitis or persons with disabilities, male or female, excluding those with intellectual disabilities
- Kuwaiti widow or divorcee with children, or a Kuwaiti woman married to a non-Kuwaiti
- Kuwaiti widow or divorcee with children, or a Kuwaiti woman married to a non-Kuwaiti
- A foreign woman divorced or widowed by a Kuwaiti man and with children from him
- Head of a foreign family consisting of a husband and wife, or multiple wives and children residing with him
- Foreign woman residing in Kuwait with children under her sponsorship
- Those exempted from all of the above according to the regulations and conditions set by the Directorate General of Residency Affairs.
The decision specifies five cases in which a visit visa may be converted to a regular residency permit:
- Those arriving on a government visit visa for a ministry, public authority or public institution. This is limited to university graduates and those with technical specialisations, subject to the approval of the Director General of the Directorate General of Residency Affairs.
- Domestic workers and those in similar categories
- Joining a family member who entered on a family visit or tourist visa
- Those who entered Kuwait on a work visa, initiated the residency application process, and then left involuntarily, remaining abroad for no more than one month
- Cases deemed appropriate by the Director General of the Directorate General of Residency Affairs
The executive regulations stipulate that a foreigner who enters the State of Kuwait under one of the residency entry visas specified in Clause One of Article Four of this decision may remain in the country for a period not exceeding two months from the date of entry.
The executive regulations stipulate that a foreigner who enters the State of Kuwait under one of the residency entry visas specified in Clause One of Article Four of this decision may remain in the country for a period not exceeding two months from the date of entry.
During this period, they must complete the procedures for obtaining temporary or regular residency. According to the regulations, a foreigner’s passport or its equivalent document, must be valid for at least six months at the time of application for regular residency.
The duration of regular residency is not linked to the passport’s validity period but rather to its purpose, ending upon the completion of that purpose, even before the expiry of the residency period. Residency may be transferred from one type to another, and from one purpose to another, according to the regulations set by the Directorate General of Residency Affairs.
The duration of regular residency is not linked to the passport’s validity period but rather to its purpose, ending upon the completion of that purpose, even before the expiry of the residency period. Residency may be transferred from one type to another, and from one purpose to another, according to the regulations set by the Directorate General of Residency Affairs.
By Munif Naif Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff
