Kuwait limits domestic worker recruitment to 10 countries
The country has simultaneously barred recruitment from 27 countries, most of them in Africa and Asia
ATT Desk Report
Kuwait has overhauled its domestic worker recruitment policy, sharply narrowing the list of approved source countries and banning recruitment to 10 out of 27 manpower sourcing countries as part of a wider effort to tighten oversight of the labour sector.
According to a directive issued by Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior in early June 2026, domestic workers can now be recruited only from 10 approved countries. The move is aimed at strengthening regulatory control and streamlining administrative procedures related to domestic labour, Gulf News reported.
Under the new policy, recruitment is permitted from South Africa, Benin, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam and Nepal.
Recruitment from Senegal will also continue, but only for male workers, the directive said. It added that some countries may face restrictions specifically on female domestic worker recruitment, while male recruitment remains allowed.
The ministry has simultaneously barred recruitment from 27 countries, most of them in Africa and Asia. The affected Asian countries are Madagascar and Bhutan.
The African countries on the banned list include 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.
The directive said the policy revision was based on recommendations from several government agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the Public Authority for Manpower.
Under the updated system, recruitment procedures will be processed through Kuwait’s governorates. The ministry noted that the new instructions have already been circulated to residency affairs departments and service centres across the country.
The changes come amid a wider regulatory crackdown in the sector, which has included the suspension of 25 domestic worker recruitment agencies and the introduction of a new visa inquiry service for domestic labour.
