Kuwait’s Interior Ministry (MOI) has recently revised - Opens in new tab its family visa sponsorship regulations, removing the requirement for migrants to have a university degree to sponsor their spouses and children.
In January this year, the MOI fully resumed family (dependent) visas for migrant residents after putting them on hold following the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Ministry required migrants to hold a university degree to sponsor their families.
Prior to this recent decision, only migrants employed in specific sectors were exempt from the university degree requirement.
The previous conditions for applying for family visas are still in effect. This includes the KD 800 salary requirement and the exemption from the salary requirement for sponsoring children under the age of five who are living or born in Kuwait.
Family visas remain restricted primarily to male migrants. However, migrant mothers can sponsor - Opens in new tab their children for family visas only in cases where the husband is deceased, divorced, or has permanently left the country, leaving his wife and children behind.
According - Opens in new tab to the Kuwait Central Statistical Bureau, in mid-2021, only 13.2% of the total migrant population in Kuwait held an educational level of a university degree or higher. Local media - Opens in new tab reported that the Residency Affairs Departments in Kuwait have seen a significant increase in the number of applicants following the recent changes to family visa regulations.
