According to the local daily Al-Rai, Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior (MOI) has decided to only grant one-year residency permits to migrant workers and their families, instead of the two-year period which is currently in practice. 

The new decision will apply to all migrants entering Kuwait as well as to foreign wives of Kuwaiti citizens, children of Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaiti mothers whose children are citizens. 

The MOI pointed out that the suspension of granting two-year residency applies to everyone, except for workers in the private sector who are already inside Kuwait and have official work permits for two years or more. 

According to reports, the Kuwaiti government expects to collect KD 9.6 million in fees from expatriates' residency permits in the current fiscal year.

The move follows a series of decisions by the Kuwaiti government in recent months aimed at migrant workers, and are likely to have negative social and economic implications. This includes the decision to suspend issuing or renewing work permits for migrants aged 60 and above who do not hold high school diplomas, which will take effect next month. banning the transfer of children’s residency permits to their migrant mothers, and introducing a quota bill for migrants.