Egypt Joins UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, And Other Countries In Middle East In Confronting New Travel Challenges As Kuwait Increases Visa Fees And Tightens Rules For Expatriates

Published on December 25, 2025

Egypt joins with other Middle Eastern countries, is now facing new travel challenges as Kuwait rolls out fresh residency and visa regulations, effective December 23, 2025. These changes introduce a KD10 per month visa fee, a revamped investor residency process, and stricter rules for domestic workers, creating financial and bureaucratic hurdles for expatriates. While these updates aim to streamline Kuwait’s residency system, they impose additional costs and procedural complexities for many foreign nationals, particularly from labor-sending countries in the region. As a result, Egypt and its neighbors must adapt to the evolving regulatory landscape in Kuwait, which could affect everything from family registration to professional visas.

On December 23, 2025, Kuwait introduced a set of fresh residency and visa rules designed to streamline the residency process, update fee structures, and create more clarity for both visitors and expatriates. These changes have significant implications for many expatriates residing in Kuwait, especially from Middle Eastern countries. The primary overhaul involves a flat KD10 per month fee for entry and visit visas, a revision of investor residency processes, and stricter regulations for domestic workers. While these changes are aimed at improving the system’s transparency and efficiency, they introduce fresh travel challenges and financial burdens for expatriates, particularly those from labor-sending nations in the Middle East.

The Big Picture: New Rules in Kuwait’s Residency System

Kuwait’s new residency and visa rules affect various categories, including short-term visitors, long-term residents, investors, and domestic workers. The changes focus on creating uniformity and predictability for the process, as the government attempts to simplify the complex rules that have often caused confusion in the past. Here’s a breakdown of the key elements of the updated rules and how they impact expatriates from the Middle East.

1. Introduction of a Flat Monthly Visa Fee

One of the most notable changes in Kuwait’s residency system is the new KD10 per month fee for all entry and visit visas. This new fee structure, effective from December 23, 2025, applies to all types of entry and visit visas, irrespective of their length of stay. For instance, a person applying for a three-month visa will now pay KD30 in total, with the fee remaining the same for each month of the visa’s duration.

This new, predictable system replaces previous visa fee structures, which were often confusing and varied widely depending on the type of visa and the applicant’s nationality. With this update, the goal is to make it simpler for expatriates and visitors to understand how much they need to pay, reducing any potential confusion regarding visa charges. This change has been welcomed by many, though it does introduce higher costs for individuals on short-term visas compared to the previous setup.

Impact on Expatriates:

For Middle Eastern nationals—especially those from countries like Egypt, Syria, and Jordan—the introduction of this flat monthly fee could lead to higher costs, particularly for workers who stay on longer-term visas but have smaller, lower-income jobs. While the costs are now clearer, they also impose a heavier financial burden for certain expatriate communities, especially those who were previously on visa categories that charged lower fees.

2. Streamlined Investor Residency Process

Foreign investors in Kuwait now have a clearer pathway to long-term residency under the new regulations. The Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) will play a pivotal role in the approval process for investors. Investors must submit a formal request to KDIPA, which will then assess whether they meet the criteria for a residency permit. Only after this approval will investors be granted residency, which can be extended for up to 15 years.

The key here is that investors no longer need to navigate a confusing and opaque system. However, approval is now only possible through official channels, ensuring that the process is more transparent, but also stricter in terms of eligibility and conditions. This update provides a clearer and more predictable system for foreign investors, though it may exclude smaller investors or entrepreneurs who do not meet the higher criteria.

Impact on Investors:

For investors, especially from countries like Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, this updated system makes it easier to access long-term residency in Kuwait, but only if they meet stringent requirements. It’s a step towards making Kuwait a more attractive destination for serious investors, but for smaller business owners or informal investors, the process could become more challenging.

3. Birth Registration Deadlines and Fines

In an effort to streamline administrative processes and ensure timely paperwork, Kuwait has introduced new rules for the registration of newborns. Under the updated regulations, parents have four months to register a newborn child without facing fines. After this grace period, fines begin to apply at KD2 per day for the first month after the grace period, increasing to KD4 per day for any delays beyond that.

The birth registration rule is aimed at improving the bureaucratic efficiency of the country and ensuring that all births are properly documented within a set timeframe. This measure particularly affects expatriate families, who may sometimes delay registration due to various reasons.

Impact on Expatriates:

For expatriates, especially those from Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, this regulation means a tighter window for ensuring their newborns’ registration. Failure to meet this deadline will lead to additional costs, which could become a financial burden for families already facing high living costs in Kuwait.

4. Updated Rules for Domestic Workers

Domestic workers, who make up a significant portion of Kuwait’s workforce, are now subject to more detailed and stringent rules. One of the major changes is that domestic workers must be between 21 and 60 years old to qualify for an entry permit. Additionally, domestic workers are now allowed to spend no more than four months outside of Kuwait on a single trip. After this period, the residency permit will expire unless the employer applies for an official absence permit.

This is a clear attempt by Kuwait to tighten its control over the labor market and limit the number of workers who leave the country for extended periods, leaving employers in a difficult situation with unpaid labor.

Impact on Domestic Workers:

For workers from countries like Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, this rule means that they will need to plan their absences from Kuwait more carefully. Those who leave the country for longer periods could find their work permits expired, adding additional hurdles for both workers and employers. The age restriction could also affect domestic workers from certain countries who may be older or younger than the set age limits.

5. Clarity and Impact on Various Expat Communities

These changes affect different expatriate communities in Kuwait in varied ways. While the introduction of a flat monthly visa fee may benefit those who are on short-term visas, it also introduces financial pressure for many expatriates, particularly low-income workers who may struggle with the new costs. Similarly, stricter rules around domestic workers, birth registration, and investor residency only add to the challenges.

Kuwait is tightening its residency system, but these regulations are also aimed at removing any ambiguity, making the system more transparent for all parties involved.

Table: Impact on Key Expat Communities in Kuwait

6. Indirect Effects on GCC Nationals

For nationals of GCC countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, the direct impact of these changes is minimal. These countries enjoy visa-free entry to Kuwait, allowing their citizens to bypass the new visa fees and residency restrictions. However, these changes could indirectly affect them, especially in the labor market, where Kuwait is tightening controls on domestic workers and expatriates.

While GCC nationals do not face the same visa hurdles, they may experience shifts in the availability of workers, especially in sectors like domestic labor, as Kuwait imposes stricter rules on expatriate workers.

Kuwait’s new residency and visa regulations mark a significant shift in the country’s approach to managing its expatriate population. With a focus on transparency, predictability, and tighter control over certain visa categories, the government is trying to streamline its process while dealing with labor market challenges.

For expatriates, particularly those from countries like Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, these changes present new challenges. Higher costs, stricter regulations, and a clearer but more complex bureaucracy will require careful planning to navigate. However, with clear rules and predictable fees, the hope is that the new system will lead to a more stable and well-regulated environment for both expatriates and employers in the long run.

Kuwait’s changes also serve as a reminder of the growing economic and social pressures faced by countries in the Gulf as they continue to manage large expatriate populations. While the new regulations may be burdensome for some, they represent a broader shift towards more streamlined and controlled migration management in the region.

Egypt joins with other Middle Eastern nations, now faces new travel challenges as Kuwait’s recent visa fee hikes and stricter residency rules impose financial and procedural burdens on expatriates. These changes, effective December 23, 2025, aim to simplify Kuwait’s residency system but add complexity for foreign nationals from labor-sending countries.

As other Middle Eastern nations such as Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia confront similar challenges, the Kuwaiti experience may offer valuable lessons in balancing economic growth, expatriate labor, and national regulations.