How to track your time outside Kuwait

Keep your own record so you never cross the limit by accident:

  1. 1

    Step 1: Note your departure date

    Record the date you left Kuwait from your boarding pass or passport exit record.

  2. 2

    Step 2: Calculate your limit

    Count six months from departure, or four months for domestic workers, and set a reminder well before that date.

  3. 3

    Step 3: Check your residency in Sahel

    Use the Sahel app’s Ministry of Interior services, signed in with Kuwait Mobile ID, to check your residency validity.

  4. 4

    Step 4: Arrange approved leave early

    If you must stay longer for medical, family or work reasons, ask your sponsor to contact Residency Affairs or use Sahel before the limit is reached.

The six-month rule

Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior issued Ministerial Decision No. 2249 of 2025 as part of the executive regulations of the residency law. Under it, expatriate residents may not remain outside Kuwait for more than six months. Staying away longer puts the residence permit at risk of cancellation.

Reported exemptions include children of Kuwaiti women, property owners and foreign investors. Other individual circumstances should be raised with the Ministry of Interior directly.

Domestic workers: four months unless leave is approved

Under Article 20 of the regulations, domestic workers may stay outside Kuwait for a maximum of four months. The sponsor can allow a longer absence by submitting an approved leave request through the Residency Affairs departments or the Sahel app.

Sponsors of domestic workers travelling home for long holidays should submit this request before the four months are reached, not afterwards.

Source note

The decision text is published in Kuwait’s official gazette, Kuwait Al-Youm. Reports differ on the exact date enforcement began and on the full list of exemptions, so confirm your individual case with the Ministry of Interior before planning a long absence.