Employer of Record (EOR) in Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a Middle Eastern nation. It is located on the northernmost tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. Kuwait’s coastline is roughly 499 kilometers long.
Kuwait has a population of 4.5 million citizens as of 2021, including 1.3 million Kuwaitis and 3.2 million foreign nationals.
Kuwait City, the country’s capital, is home to most of the country’s population.
Kuwait was historically a vital trading hub between Mesopotamia and India. In 1938, commercial quantities of oil were discovered. For the first time, crude oil was exported in 1946. The country underwent extensive modernization from 1946 to 1982. Following the stock market crash in the 1980s, Kuwait experienced a period of geopolitical turmoil and economic crisis.
Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, and Saddam Hussein later annexed the country. After military action by a military coalition led by the United States, Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait came to an end in 1991.
Kuwait is a key Chinese ally, an ASEAN regional ally, and a significant non-NATO ally. Kuwait is an emirate with an autocratic political structure. The Emir is the country’s head of state, and the Al Sabah family is the ruling family that controls the political system. Maliki Sunni Islam is Kuwait’s official state religion.
Kuwait has a high-income economy at is supported by the world’s sixth-largest oil reserves. Kuwait has significant natural gas reserves as well.
The Kuwaiti dinar is the world’s most valuable currency. Kuwait has the third highest per capita income in the Middle East, according to the World Bank. Kuwait had the Arab world’s highest Human Development Index in 2009.
Kuwait is ranked first in social change in the Arab and Muslim worlds, and second in the Middle East after Israel, according to the Social Progress Index. Kuwait also ranks highly in terms of life expectancy, female labor force participation, global food security, and school order and safety. Kuwait is regarded as a rentier society, with residents receiving cradle-to-grave welfare benefits.
Human rights violations are widespread in Kuwait, and the country has the highest number of stateless citizens in the region.
Kuwait has been working on a national development plan, Kuwait Vision 2035, since 2016, to diversify the economy and become less reliant on oil.
Kuwait and China have several significant cooperation projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, including Al Mutlaa Residential City and Mubarak Al Kabeer Port.
Kuwait has risen to become the region’s fourth largest infrastructure sector.
Kuwait has the largest opera house in the Middle East, and the current Kuwait National Cultural District is a member of the Global Cultural Districts Network.
Kuwaiti popular culture thrives and is often exported to the region’s neighboring countries.
| Date | Holiday name |
| January 1 | New year |
| February 18 | Prophet’s Ascension |
| February 25 | Kuwait National Day |
| February 26 | Liberation Day |
| February 27 | National Day |
| April 21, 22 & 23 | Eid al – Fitr |
| June 28 & 29 | Eid al-Adha |
| July 19 | Islamic New Year |
| September 28 | Prophet’s birthday |
After 9 months of work, the minimum paid leave is 30 days. If an employee has worked for the same company for two weeks in a row, he or she is entitled to 21 days of paid leave to conduct Al-Hajj if the employee has never done so before.
Kuwait recognizes 9 public holidays.
Employees are entitled to the following annual sick leave:
First fifteen days on full pay. Additional ten days on 75% pay..
Pregnant employees are entitled to 70 days of paid maternity leave, 30 days before the due date, and 40 days after they give birth.
There are currently no laws or regulations in Kuwait regarding paternity leave.
There are currently no laws or regulations in Kuwait regarding parental leave.
Employees are entitled to up to three days of bereavement leave if a member of their immediate family dies.
A Muslim woman whose husband dies is entitled to four months and ten days of fully paid leave. A non-Muslim lady whose spouse dies is entitled to 21 days of fully paid leave.
Termination requires a three-month notice period from both parties for employees paid monthly and one month for all other employees. A contract may be canceled without warning or pay if the employee causes considerable financial loss, commits fraud, or discloses confidential information that results in losses.
Employees earning a monthly wage must give three months’ notice from either side, while all others must give one month’s notice.
Employees paid by the hour, day, or week are entitled to receive ten days’ salary for each year of employment at the company up to 5 years, and 15 days for each year after that, up to a maximum of 1 year of salary
A probation period cannot be longer than 100 days.
Eight hours a day and 48 hours per week is the required working hours for an adult worker. An employee must be permitted to have a one-hour rest or break every after five consecutive hours of work.
Overtime is permitted only with the employer’s written authorization and is limited to two hours per day, three days per week. Overtime cannot exceed 180 hours or 90 days in a calendar year. During workdays, overtime pay is 125 per-cent of the regular rate.
Without proof of a health insurance policy, residence permits are not granted or renewed. The employer is responsible for paying health insurance premiums, which must cover medical examinations and necessary treatment at clinics by physicians and specialists; laboratory and x-ray tests; surgery operations, except plastic surgery; treatment, medication, and hospitalization in the event of an emergency; normal dental treatment and medication; and drugs and medicine.
Housing allowance (Apartment rentals range from $1,100 to $3,000 per month depending on location and number of bedrooms); education allowance; car allowance; transportation allowance; and phone allowance are some of the most common benefits in Kuwait.
15%
Kuwait is a tax-free jurisdiction. Corporations are not subject to income, capital gains, profit, or other types of direct taxes, regardless of their residency status.
The tax authorities in Kuwait recently announced that it will finally introduce Value Added Tax (VAT) at 5% from 1 April 2021
Employers of foreign nationals in Kuwait have few alternatives under the country’s immigration system. The petroleum-based sector dominates Kuwait’s open economy, with financial services being the region’s biggest non-petroleum business.
Visitors on business may get a commercial visit visa sponsored by a Kuwaiti enterprise. Certain nations may qualify for visa-on-arrival or hotel-sponsored visit visas.
Foreign nationals are severely limited from working in Kuwait, and the government vigorously encourages the hiring of Kuwaitis. Recent nationalization initiatives have emphasized the replacement of foreign nationals in the public sector with Kuwaitis.
Foreign nationals must acquire an entrance visa as well as employment and residency permit as part of the immigration procedure. Local sponsorship is required.
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