Kuwait empowers school principals to approve exit permits for Expat Teachers

Kuwait’s Ministry of Education has authorized school principals to approve exit permits for expatriate teachers and staff, eliminating the need for regional office involvement, Gulf News reported.

The move is intended to streamline procedures, reduce delays, and improve administrative efficiency. It also marks the end of a months-long bureaucratic bottleneck that had disrupted travel plans for tens of thousands of educators.

Announced in coordination with the Civil Service Commission, the policy enables school administrations to issue exit permits directly through the government’s Integrated System as part of a broader digital transformation initiative.

The change is expected to benefit more than 30,000 expatriate educators across Kuwait. As part of the reform, the Ministry has introduced a new mechanism for processing travel requests, which includes:

– Teachers obtaining Form No. 1 from supervisors

– Submitting requests through the “Sahel” app

– Principals approving applications directly via the integrated government portal

This reform is designed to reduce red tape and support more effective governance of Kuwait’s education sector.

“This shift is aimed at reducing delays, simplifying procedures, and promoting administrative discipline,” said Acting Assistant Undersecretary for General Education Mansour Al Dhafiri in a directive issued to all education districts.

He instructed officials to stop referring travel requests to central offices, calling the reform a key step toward granting schools greater administrative autonomy.

Previously, expatriate educators faced a cumbersome, multi-step process involving district office visits and paper submissions. The rollout of the “Sahel” app — designed to facilitate electronic services — initially encountered technical issues, particularly with syncing teacher data with Civil Service Bureau systems. This led to widespread confusion and complaints.

In response, Education Minister Dr. Adel Al Tabtabaei coordinated with the Civil Service Bureau to urgently update records and restore functionality. Since then, hundreds of teachers have successfully processed their travel requests online, significantly reducing administrative foot traffic and easing the overall process.