Kuwait work visa transfer fee, June 2025 update

In a major overhaul of its labor market policies, Kuwait has introduced a standardized fee for all work permit transfers, eliminating previous exemptions for specific sectors.

The decision, announced on Thursday by First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Fahd Al Youssef under Ministerial Resolution No. 4 of 2025, repeals Article 2 of last year’s regulations, which had allowed certain industries to bypass additional permit fees based on manpower needs.

The new fee of KD150 applies across various sectors, including government-owned companies, health facilities licensed by the Ministry of Health, private universities and schools, foreign investors accredited by the Investment Promotion Authority, sports clubs, federations, public benefit associations, labor unions, charities, endowments, as well as licensed agricultural operations, industrial facilities, commercial properties, and small-scale industries. Each work permit issued will now incur the KD150 charge, removing preferential treatment for these sectors.

The resolution also scraps the requirement for the Public Authority for Manpower’s Board of Directors to conduct a one-year impact study of the 2024 decision, allowing the new rules to take effect without further review.

Also read: Kuwait lifts 19-year visa ban for Pakistani citizens

Earlier, in a key development, Kuwait officially resumed the issuance of visas to Pakistani citizens after 19 years of restriction.

According to a report by a foreign news agency, a long-standing ban on various visa categories has been lifted for Pakistanis.

After the ‘Kuwait visas ban lifted’, under new directives, a range of visas will be issued by Kuwait to Pakistani nationals, including work, family, visit, tourist, and commercial visas.

This step is likely to create possible opportunities for thousands of Pakistanis looking for jobs, business, and tourism in the Gulf state.

Especially, Kuwait aims to hire around 1,200 nurses from Pakistan for its medical sector, with the first contingent predictable to leave soon.