Kuwait announces expat residency rules with new investor visas

The executive regulations of Kuwait’s Foreigners’ Residency Law No. 2249 of 2025 came into effect on December 24 and are designed to keep pace with legislative and digital advancements, according to the General Department of Residency Affairs.

The department’s Director General, Brigadier Mazid Al-Mutairi, said the law was originally issued in 1959, amended in 1965, followed by a ministerial decree in 1987 and several subsequent amendments, the most recent of which was in 2019.

Kuwait expat visa laws

He added that the Ministry of Interior, represented by the General Department of Residency Affairs, determined that a comprehensive update was required to align the framework with electronic and legislative developments, leading to the issuance of the new executive regulations.

According to Al-Mutairi, the bylaws now comprehensively regulate all types of entry visas, including family, medical, business and tourist visits, as well as work entry visas for the public and private sectors, domestic workers and students.

He said the most significant update was the introduction of new residency categories, including:

• Investor residency
• Residency for self-employed professionals and private businesses
• Residency for specialised professionals

A foreign investor’s residency visa is issued upon request from the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority in accordance with Law No. 116 of 2013. Ordinary residency may be granted to foreign investors for a period not exceeding 15 years, subject to Cabinet rules, and may also be granted upon KDIPA’s request.

Domestic workers

Al-Mutairi noted that the bylaws allow domestic workers holding Article 20 residency to remain outside Kuwait for a period not exceeding four months, after which residency would be cancelled.

He clarified that this provision does not apply to those who left the country before the application date.

The regulations also stipulate that workers brought into the country for employment must be between 21 and 60 years of age.

New digital residency services

He added that the department, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Information Systems, has launched two new electronic services in recent days.

These include issuing a residency permit for the first time for private sector workers under Article 18, and transferring a worker’s residency permit from the same sector to temporary residency under Article 14.

This initiative forms part of an integrated plan to achieve full service digitalisation, in line with directives from the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah.

On tourism, Al-Mutairi said the number of visitors entering Kuwait each week ranges between 17,000 and 20,000, with arrivals travelling for tourism, trade or family visits.