Working in Kuwait as a French National: Work Permit, Salary, Taxes and Social Protection

The 30-, 60- or 90-day visa granted to a French national does not give the right to work: it is chosen according to the purpose of the trip (tourism, family, business). For a long professional stay, the applicant starts, with their employer-sponsor, the procedure for the long-stay residence card, the “Civil ID” (France Diplomatie, the French foreign ministry). The implementing regulation of the residence law, published by the Ministry of the Interior on 21 October 2019, provides for entry for the private sector on the basis of a work authorisation issued by the competent authority, then ordinary residence under article 18.

• Sponsorship: transferring the residence of a private-sector employee to another employer requires the authority’s approval; the employer must also report absences and the end or termination of the contract, and repatriate the employee at its own expense at the end of the employment relationship.
• Changing employer: the ILO describes a transfer that is possible with the employer’s consent after one year of continuous employment, or without that consent three years after the permit was issued, with specific rules for small and medium-sized enterprises, free zones and certain sectors.
• Contract: it may be verbal or written in Arabic; if written, it is drawn up in three copies, to which translations may be added.
• Passport and exit: confiscation of the passport by the employer is prohibited, and no exit permit is required to leave the country (ILO).
• Payment: salaries are paid every fortnight or every month, through the wage protection system, into an approved bank account.

The guide to working abroad helps you choose between secondment and expatriation, and the glossary defines the local contract. The settling-in formalities are in the guide to living in Kuwait.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) sheet of December 2023 gives a minimum wage of 75 Kuwaiti dinars a month in the private sector, set by ministerial decision No. 14; the minister may rule on the minimum wage only once every five years at most. At the Central Bank of Kuwait rate of 05/10/2026 (344.263 fils per €1), KWD 75 is equivalent to about €218. This floor mainly concerns low-skilled jobs: for an employee recruited internationally, the level is negotiated in the contract.

The official sources consulted publish no average salary by sector: the guide to living in Kuwait details the budget. Two regulatory benchmarks help place the levels. The first is the threshold of KWD 500 (about €1,450) a month required of a foreigner who brings their family, with exemptions for professions such as doctors, engineers or university teachers. The second is the list of benefits to read in the offer: housing, transport, schooling and plane tickets vary by employer and are compared line by line.

The ILO sheet summarises the private-sector labour law as follows:

• Hours: 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week, 36 hours a week during Ramadan, with a one-hour break after five hours of work. A weekly rest day is guaranteed; work on that day is paid at least 150% of the basic daily wage.
• Overtime: 125% to 150% of the basic hourly rate, within a limit of two hours a day, six hours a week and 180 hours a year.
• Leave: 30 days of paid annual leave after six months of service; maternity leave of 70 paid days, plus up to four months unpaid.
• Sickness: 15 days at full pay, then 10 days at three quarters, 10 days at half and 30 days at a quarter of salary, then unpaid.
• Work accident: full salary for the first six months, then half, and treatment costs borne by the employer.
• Heat: outdoor work is prohibited from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. from 1 June to 31 August, except in oil and gas.

End-of-service pay is a legal entitlement. For an employee paid monthly, it amounts to 15 days of salary per year for the first five years, then one month of salary per year, up to a limit of 18 months of salary, calculated pro rata. It stands in for an end-of-career benefit, since expatriates are excluded from the local old-age pension (see below). The guide to retirement helps you anticipate this gap.

The treaty between France and Kuwait, signed in Kuwait on 7 February 1982 and in force since 1 September 1983, was amended by two protocols, in force in 1991 and 1995 (consolidated text on impots.gouv.fr, the French tax authority website). On the Kuwaiti side, its article 2 lists corporate income tax, the levy for the benefit of the foundation for scientific development and the religious tax (zakat); it mentions no personal income tax. The list of economic texts of the investment authority also cites a Kuwaiti income tax law and a law on the taxation of multinational enterprise groups, which target entities, not employees.

• Tax residence (article 4): an individual resident in both states falls under the state where they have their permanent home, then the centre of their vital interests. An employee who keeps their home in France can therefore remain a French tax resident.
• Salaries (article 13): they are taxable in the state of residence, unless the employment is exercised in the other state; a stay of 183 days at most in the year, with an employer who is not a resident of that state and no burden on a permanent establishment, leaves taxation to the state of residence.
• Self-employed (article 12): income from a liberal profession is taxable only in the state of residence, unless there is a fixed base in the other state.
• Avoiding double taxation (article 19): France grants a tax credit whose amount depends on the category of income, equal to the tax paid in Kuwait or to the corresponding French tax as the case may be.

A non-resident for tax purposes who receives French-source income, for example rent, declares it every year: the tax authority applies a minimum rate of 20% up to €29,579 of net taxable income and 30% above (notice 2041-E, 2025 income return). The personal situation is checked on impots.gouv.fr or with the non-resident individuals tax office; the guide to secondment or expatriation sheds light on common cases.

The Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) defines the insured person as any Kuwaiti employee of the public or private sector, Kuwaiti self-employed worker, or Kuwaiti working in a Gulf Cooperation Council country. Foreign employees are not part of it: the ILO notes that no old-age, invalidity or survivor’s pension is provided for them by law, and that end-of-service pay stands in for a benefit. Their protection rests on the employer: health insurance tied to residence, care and salary in the event of a work accident, sickness benefits.

France has no social security agreement with Kuwait: the country does not appear on the CLEISS (the French liaison centre for international social security) list of bilateral agreements in force. An employee seconded outside an agreement remains affiliated to French social security for 3 years, renewable once, but must also meet local obligations. Contributions, the CFE (the French social security fund for expatriates) and supplementary pension are detailed in the CFE guide and in the guide to healthcare reimbursement in Kuwait.

The 2019 regulation provides for residence for the foreign investor or partner in a commercial or industrial activity (article 19), on presentation of the business licence issued by the competent authority, to be produced again at renewal. The Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) recalls that the law on the promotion of direct investment allows a foreign investor to hold up to 100% of a Kuwaiti company and provides, for licensed entities, an exemption from income tax or other taxes for a period of ten years at most from effective operation.

Residence without employment (article 24) exists for those who prove their resources, but it does not amount to authorisation to work: the text reserves to the director of residence the possibility of authorising work at the request of an authority. The official sources consulted do not describe a visa specific to remote work: a French national working remotely for a foreign employer asks the Ministry of the Interior about the suitable permit. Cover solutions are in digital nomad insurance.

France Diplomatie describes an economy dependent on hydrocarbons: in 2023, they account for more than 35% of GDP, 92% of exports and 93% of state revenue. The sovereign wealth fund Kuwait Investment Authority holds substantial assets. By sector, industry accounts for 41.6% of GDP, services 58% and agriculture and fishing 0.4%. Kuwait is a member of OPEC and the world’s tenth-largest oil exporter.

The “New Kuwait 2035” programme, presented in 2017, aims to make the country a regional commercial, financial and tourism centre, with investment in urban infrastructure, transport, energy and the environment. The country also pursues a policy of Kuwaitisation of the private sector, which matters for anyone looking for a job. France is present with 39 companies established there, a turnover of 585 million euros and 2,139 people employed, and Kuwait is France’s third-largest trading partner in the Gulf. The currency is the Kuwaiti dinar, pegged to a basket of currencies, whose rate on 05/10/2026 is 344.263 fils per €1.

To compare health cover linked to a local contract or a secondment, the expat health insurance page gives benchmarks; Expavy helps you weigh them against your situation.