Kuwait now lets eligible sponsors issue entry visas for domestic workers and drivers online through the government Sahel app.
The Ministry of Interior also revised who can sponsor whom. Here’s what changed and who qualifies.
What’s Changed
The Kuwait Ministry of Interior, working with the Public Authority for Manpower and its IT sector, has added domestic worker and driver entry-visa services to the Sahel unified government app.
Eligible users can now complete these visa procedures online instead of visiting Ministry of Interior service centres. The driver visa service rolled out first in mid-May 2026, with domestic worker categories added in early June.
The aim is to speed up processing, cut paperwork, and regulate domestic labour sponsorship more clearly. It sits alongside other services Kuwait has shifted onto Sahel, much like the work permit transfer process.
New Sponsorship Eligibility Rules
The update also sets out who can sponsor a domestic worker, a driver, or both, based on the sponsor’s marital and family status.
| Sponsor Category | What They Can Sponsor |
|---|---|
| Single women | One domestic worker only |
| Married, divorced, or widowed women with children | One domestic worker and one driver |
| Married, divorced, or widowed men with families | Up to three domestic workers and one driver |
| Single men | One driver only |
The Ministry has not published salary thresholds, age limits, or residency conditions tied to these brackets. Check Sahel or the relevant authority for the requirements that apply to your case.
What Applicants Should Know
If you’re a resident or citizen in Kuwait City planning to sponsor a worker or driver, the application now runs through the Sahel app rather than a service centre counter.
- Where to apply: the Sahel app, under the domestic labour and driver visa services.
- Who can apply: sponsors who meet the eligibility bracket above.
- What it replaces: in-person visits to Ministry of Interior service centres for these visa steps.
Once issued, you can confirm the visa’s status the usual way — see our guide on how to check a Kuwait visa online. For background on this visa category itself, read our domestic worker visa overview.
Other Kuwait visa routes, including the Kuwait e-Visa for visitors, remain separate from this domestic labour service.
Sources
- Gulf News — Kuwait launches online visa service for domestic workers and drivers
- Arab Times — New digital service for domestic labour and driver visas
- Times Kuwait — MoI adds new categories for domestic worker, driver e-visas
- Gulf Insider — Kuwait new visa service eligibility rules
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