Kuwait’s new salary rules: Expats given 30 days to adjust families or relocate
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Yasmin Alta
- . May 28, 2025
- . Update: May 29, 2025 11:53 am
Kuwait has begun to enforce rules regarding family visas for expatriates, with strict consequences and measures taken against any foreign resident who is reported told by authorities that they violated residency laws. The Residence Affairs Investigations Department has discovered that some expatriates, who were previously earning the minimum salary of KD800 (about $2,610)- required to sponsor family visas, have now had salary decreases resulting from job changes or pay cuts. These expatriates previously paid this salary cap to receive family visas (for wives and children), now have only one month to correct their residency status or send their families home.
A follow-up to Ministerial Resolution No. 56 of 2024, which was issued back in January, by First Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Fahad Yousef Al Sabah. Initially, the resolution required a university degree and a matching job in return for a salary of KD800. However, in July 2024, the requirement for a degree was waived leaving only the salary condition. An official stated that the KD800 salary limit is based on studies to ensure that expatriates can maintain and support their families to a proper standard. This recent activity is not part of a general, weeding-out campaign, but designated tasking focusing on the automated checks and linkages with the job, income, and residency databases.
