Kuwait has issued a new ministerial decision setting the fee for converting a visit entry visa into a regular residency permit, in accordance with Article 16 of Ministerial Decision No. 2249 of 2025. The move officially establishes the financial charge applicable to eligible cases in which a visitor’s entry status may be converted into regular residency while inside the country.

The decision was issued by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef. It adds a new Item No. 4 to Paragraph Nine of Article 39 of Ministerial Decision No. 2249 of 2025, setting the fee for converting a visit entry visa into regular residency at KD150. Domestic workers and those in equivalent categories are exempt from paying the new fee.

According to the decision published in the official gazette Kuwait Today, the new charge applies specifically to visit-to-residency conversions permitted under Article 16 of the same ministerial decision.

The article defines the circumstances in which such conversions may be approved and establishes a clear regulatory framework for processing these cases.

The first eligible category covers individuals who entered Kuwait on an official government visit visa issued for a state ministry, public authority or public institution. This is limited to university degree holders and individuals with technical specializations, subject to the approval of the Director General of the General Department for Residency Affairs. Eligible cases also include domestic workers and equivalent categories, as well as family members seeking to join relatives after entering on a family visit visa or a tourism visit visa.

The decision also permits conversion for individuals who entered Kuwait on a work entry visa, began completing the requirements for obtaining residency, and were then compelled to leave the country, provided that their stay outside Kuwait does not exceed one month. Other cases may also be approved at the discretion of the Director General of the General Department for Residency Affairs. Under the new decision, the KD150 fee applies to eligible visit-to-regular-residency conversions, except for domestic workers and equivalent categories.