Kuwait Residence Visas: A Comprehensive Guide to Requirements & Process (2025)

The three main categories of residence authorizations include work permits together with dependent authorizations and native home permits. Work visas in Kuwait demand a Kuwaiti employer to act as sponsor whereas dependents and domestic workers can receive sponsorship from an expatriate holder of their own visas.

Work Visa (Employment Visa in Kuwait)

Any expatriate who wants to work in Kuwait needs to obtain a work visa because it serves as their essential employment requirement. The work visa exists for people who are outside the GCC but demands multiple requirements to follow.

Eligibility and Application Process

A work visa requires expatriate candidates to seek their position as an employee from a registered Kuwaiti company.

1. An employer needs to act as the sponsorship party to acquire a work permit from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor on behalf of the employee.
2. Executors need to provide their employee's passport details together with a No Objection Certificate (NOC) released by the General Administration of Criminal Investigation for security clearance purposes.
3. The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivers the work permit duplicate through the embassy of the applicant's native country.
4. The employee requires an entry visa application at the Kuwaiti Embassy by presenting work permit materials along with employer's NOC and required supporting documents.
5. A medical assessment together with a police documentation certificate must be approved before entering Kuwait.
6. Expatriates arriving at Kuwait must finish additional procedures where their fingerprints get collected and they obtain residence stamping on their passports to receive their Civil ID.

Dependent Visa (Family Visa in Kuwait)

Expatriates with valid work visa and residence permit have the ability to request dependent visas for their immediate family members.

Eligibility Criteria for Family Sponsorship

Minimum Salary Requirement:

Public sector employees: Minimum K.D. 450 salary

Private sector employees: Minimum K.D. 650 salary

Who Can Be Sponsored?

Spouse and children (Daughters of any age and sons below 21 years old)

The sponsorship of parental figures to Kuwait requires additional cost payments.

Female workers do not have the authority to get their husbands into the country under dependent visa regulations.

Application Process for a Dependent Visa

The applicant should complete an Arabic-language visa form.

Submit copies of:

• Dependent’s passport
• Sponsor’s Civil ID
• Salary certificate
• Marriage certificate (for spouse) or birth certificate (for children)

Pay the residence visa fee:

• First year:
• K.D. 100/person (wife and first two children)
• K.D. 200/person (for additional children)
• Renewal fee: K.D. 10/person per year

Newborn Child Residence Visa in Kuwait

• A child born in Kuwait requires issuance of a dependent visa as the initial procedure. The process includes:
• A resident must request their birth certificate from the registry located in their current area.
• Submitting the following documents:
• Hospital’s birth report
• Parents’ passports and Civil IDs
• Authenticated marriage certificate
• Application form with a fee of K.D. 10
• The child may have their name added to his parents' passport instead of obtaining independent documentation or issuing their own passport.
• The residential visa application must be performed through normal dependent visa protocols.
  
  

Domestic Visa (Housemaid Visa in Kuwait)

Any family residing in Kuwait with either expatriate or Kuwaiti nationality members holds the opportunity to get domestic help through sponsorship based on these requirements:

Requirements for Domestic Visa Sponsorship

• A married couple with children represents the sole group capable of applying for a maid sponsorship.
• No minimum salary requirement for sponsors.
• The age requirement for domestic workers who want to work in Kuwait rests between 20 to 50 years old.
• The procedures for domestic visas exclude sponsors from extending the visa to their family members or relatives.

Application Process

• The passport office requires receipt of a properly filled Arabic-language application form.
• Provide the following documents:
• Salary certificates of both sponsor and spouse
• House rental agreement
• Passports and Civil IDs of the sponsor and spouse
• Children’s birth certificates
• Maid’s passport and work contract
• Eight passport-sized photographs of the maid
• Pay the visa fees:
• K.D. 200 for the first year
• K.D. 10 for annual renewal
  
  

Medical Examination and Fingerprinting for Residence Visa

All pretent visa candidates need to follow these procedures before getting their residence permit.

1. The applicant needs to complete medical tests that check for HIV/AIDS hepatitis tuberculosis and malaria diseases.
2. All workers need to obtain meningitis vaccination before visa approval.
3. Complete fingerprinting at any authorized department in Kuwait.

Retaining a residence visa depends on passing medical examinations because those who fail medical tests will be deported.


Foreign citizens must secure their Civil ID from the Public Authority of Civil Information in Kuwait.

Expatriates should get their residence visas stamped at PACI in order to obtain their Civil ID (Bataka) through the Public Authority of Civil Information. Required documents include:

• Photocopy of passport
• A translated version of PCC serves as the security clearance.
• Rent agreement
• Declaration signed by the sponsor
  
  

Visit Visa for Kuwait

Any person who aims to visit Kuwait must secure their entry through a Kuwaiti sponsor who acts as their authorizing authority. People from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Australia can access entry permits rather than traditional visas for Kuwaiti entry.

Visit Visa Details

• Valid for 90 days.
• The expense for a visit visa (known as Entry permit) is K.D. 3 but entry permits are free.
• A person who stays beyond their authorized period must pay K.D. 10 as an everyday fines charge.

Required Documents for Visit Visa

• Proof of relationship (for family visits)
• Copy of visitor’s passport
• Sponsor’s Civil ID
• Sponsor’s salary certificate
• Completed visa application form

Transit Visa for Kuwait

Kuwait grants transit visas to traveling passengers who need to stay temporarily in the country for seven consecutive days.

• Cost: K.D. 2
• Requires confirmed onward ticket
• This visa becomes available through both port authorities and Kuwaiti foreign consulates.