Domestic workers dominate Kuwait’s residency violations

• Non-Arab Asian nationals, totaling 86.2 thousand, accounted for 71% of residency violators.

• Arab violators totaled around 18.03 thousand, and non-Arab African violators numbered about 15.49 thousand.

• European violators totaled 516, while North American violators numbered 771.

• In 2023, Kuwait canceled 57.06 thousand residency permits.

Statistics released by the Central Administration of Statistics show a notable decrease in residency violators in Kuwait, with their number reaching 121.19 thousand male and female expatriates by the end of 2023.

Kuwait granted residency permits for the first time to approximately 84,975 male and female residents during the same year. Meanwhile, about 57.06 thousand residency permits were canceled for Kuwaiti residents in 2023.

The data shows that there are approximately 2.93 million current residencies in Kuwait, distributed as follows: 47.53 thousand ‘Article 14’ residents (temporary residents, male and female), 96.5 thousand ‘Article 17’residents (government workers, male and female), 1.5 million ‘Article 18’ residents (private sector workers, male and female), 972 male and female residents under ‘Article 19’ practicing self-employed activity, 786 thousand male and female residents under ‘Article 20’ as domestic workers, 504.17 thousand male and female residents under ‘Article 22’ joining a family, 735 male and female residents under ‘Article 23’ studying, and 1,980 male and female residents under ‘Article 24’ as a source of expenditure.

In detail, regarding residency violators, their number decreased from 133.44 thousand expatriate men and women in 2022 to 121.19 thousand expatriate men and women by the end of 2023, highlighting the efforts made by the state to address the issue of residency violators.

According to the data reported by Al-Anbaa newspaper, half of the residency violators in Kuwait are domestic workers. By the end of 2023, their numbers amounted to about 60.7 thousand male and female workers holding Article 20 residency, violating residency regulations in the country.

Residents holding ‘Article 18’ residency came in second place with a number of violators totaling 28.08 thousand male and female residents, followed by Article 14 temporary residency holders, whose number at the end of the year reached about 25.27 thousand male and female residents.

The number of residency violators under ‘Article 22’, joining a family, reached about 6,146 male and female residents. Meanwhile, the number of government employee violators of residency reached about 701 male and female residents, with 196 male and female residents under ‘Article 24’ regarding the source of expenditure.

Additionally, there were 23 male and female residents violating Article 19, related to self-employment. Moreover, there were 23 male and female residents violating Article 19 for study purposes, totaling about sixviolators.

In terms of the nationalities of residency violators, non-Arab Asian nationals accounted for 71% of the total violators, totaling 86.2 thousand male and female residents. Arab violators numbered around 18.03 thousand male and female individuals, while violators from non-Arab African nationalities numbered about 15.49 thousand males and females.

The number of European violators reached 516 individuals, and the number of violators from North American countries reached 771 males and females. Furthermore, there were 124 male and female violators from Central and South American countries, along with 37 violators from Australia and Pacific countries.

In the same context, the numbers revealed the magnitude of the annual increase in the number of residency permits granted for the first time. In 2023, approximately 84,975 male and female residents were granted these permits.

The number of temporary residencies granted for the first time last year reached about 18.6 thousand, while the number of residencies granted for the first time for government work reached 1,083. For workers in the private sector under ‘Article 18’, their number reached about 15,489 residents, both male and female.

Nine residencies were granted under Article 19 for practicing self-employment, along with 30.49 thousand Article 20 residence permits for domestic workers, and 18.8 thousand male and female residents under Article 22 joining a family member. Regarding Article 23 for study purposes, the number of residencies was about 18, while the number of residencies under Article 24 for a source of income was about 434.

In a related context, the number of canceled residency permits for residents in Kuwait during 2023 amounted to about 57.06 thousand residency permits. The majority of these cancellations were concentrated in residency permits for workers in the private sector under ‘Article 18’, with their number reaching about 23.5 thousand male and female residents.

Additionally, there were 17 thousand male and female residents under ‘Article 22’ joining a family, 6,345 male and female residents under ‘Article 14’ for temporary residency, 5,248 male and female residents under ‘Article 17’ for government workers, 4,597 male and female workers under ‘Article 20’ for domestic workers, 159 male and female residents under ‘Article 23’ for study, and 179 male and female residents under ‘Article 24’ for a source of expenditure.