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🇰🇼 Kuwait /Economy & Trade

Kuwait expands exemptions from six-month absence rule for expatriates

From Arab Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Approved/passed
  • Kuwait has amended its residency regulations to allow certain people whose Kuwaiti citizenship was revoked, and some dependents, to receive ordinary residency permits for up to 10 years after regaining or obtaining another nationality.
  • The decree expands exemptions from the six-month absence rule and sets separate conditions for domestic workers, while allowing some valid permit holders to seek permission for longer stays abroad.
  • The changes were issued by Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah and published in Kuwait’s official gazette.

Kuwait has expanded the categories of expatriates exempt from the six-month rule limiting how long foreign residents may stay outside the country.

First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah issued Ministerial Decree No. 1410/2026, amending the executive regulations of the Foreigners’ Residence Law. The decree appeared Sunday in the official gazette, Kuwait Al-Youm.

One amendment adds Article 7-bis. It allows ordinary residency permits of up to 10 years for people whose Kuwaiti citizenship has been revoked, as well as people who acquired Kuwaiti citizenship through dependency and later regained their original foreign citizenship or obtained another nationality. The Director General of the General Department of Residency Affairs will set the conditions for granting and renewing these permits. Holders may also work in Kuwait under applicable regulations.

A regular residency permit may be granted for a period not exceeding ten years to individuals whose Kuwaiti citizenship has been revoked, as well as to those who acquired Kuwaiti citizenship through dependency on them, in accordance with the provisions of Clause 4 of Article 13 of Amiri Decree No. 15/1959, and who have regained their original foreign citizenship or obtained any other citizenship.

· Kuwait Interior Ministry decreeThe new Article 7-bis sets out the residency option for people whose Kuwaiti citizenship was revoked and certain dependents.

The amended rules continue to bar most foreign residents with valid permits from remaining outside Kuwait for more than six consecutive months. Exemptions cover children of Kuwaiti mothers who did not obtain citizenship through marriage to a Kuwaiti citizen, property owners, qualifying investors covered by Law No. 116/2013, and people granted residency under Article 7-bis.

Residents with valid permits may seek authorization to stay abroad beyond six months, provided their permits remain valid and they meet the conditions set by the General Directorate of Residency Affairs. Domestic workers face a four-month limit unless they obtain prior permission to remain abroad. Otherwise, their residency permits will be forfeited. The decree also adds a residency-fee category for people granted permits under Article 7-bis.

A foreigner granted a residency permit may not remain outside the State of Kuwait for a period exceeding six consecutive months.

· Kuwait Interior Ministry decreeThe amended regulation states the general absence limit for foreign residents.
About this summary

Originally published by Arab Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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