Kuwait is reported to have issued updated rules limiting domestic worker recruitment to 10 approved countries while barring recruitment from 27 others, in a move tied to tighter oversight of the domestic labour sector.
Local media reported that the Interior Ministry circulated the directive to residency affairs departments and service centres. The details of the circular, including the official basis for the measure and its implementation timeline, have not been independently verified.
The reported change would affect how domestic workers are recruited into Kuwait and which nationalities can be processed through official channels. It is being presented as part of wider administrative controls over the domestic labour market.
Countries Reported as Approved for Recruitment
According to the reported circular, recruitment of domestic workers may be allowed from a limited group of countries. The list named in local media includes South Africa, Benin, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam and Nepal.
Senegal was also listed, but with recruitment reportedly limited to male workers only. That gender-specific condition, like the broader list itself, has not been independently confirmed through a public official notice.
Countries Reported as Banned
The same reports said the directive includes 27 countries from which domestic worker recruitment is prohibited. The countries named were Madagascar, Bhutan, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Togo, Malawi, Chad, Djibouti, Niger, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cabo Verde, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Angola.
For some countries, the restrictions were reported to apply only to female domestic workers, while recruitment of male workers would remain permitted. The source material did not provide a confirmed country-by-country breakdown for those partial restrictions.
What Remains Unclear
Several operational details remain unclear from the available report. It said recruitment procedures would be handled through Kuwait’s governorates, but no firm public timeline has been confirmed. It also said the circular had taken effect after a recent update, but that timing has not been independently verified.
The report attributed the measure to observations and recommendations from several government bodies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the Public Authority for Manpower. That stated basis should be treated as reported rather than independently confirmed.
For employers, recruitment offices and workers, the practical effect will depend on how residency affairs departments apply the circular and whether Kuwait releases a fuller public explanation of the new controls.