Working in Kuwait

What the employer must have

• The Kuwaiti employer (sponsor) must obtain your Employment Visa No. 18 for private-sector work, and the employment contract must be signed by the sponsor.
• To hire a Filipino it must also be accredited with a DMW-licensed Philippine agency and its job order approved by the DMW.

What you must do before you leave

1. Go through a DMW-licensed recruitment agency. Direct hiring is banned by Article 18 of the Labor Code — only the narrow categories listed in POEA Memorandum Circular 08-2018 are exempt — and you can check any agency's licence on dmw.gov.ph before you pay or sign anything.
2. Your employment contract must be verified by the Migrant Workers Office (MWO, formerly POLO) at the Philippine post covering your destination before you can be deployed.
3. Complete the Pre-Employment Orientation Seminar (PEOS) and the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) and keep both certificates — they are part of the documentary requirements.
4. Get your Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) before you leave. Every departing OFW needs one, it exempts you from travel tax and the airport terminal fee, and it is valid for 60 days from the date it is issued.
5. Check the DMW advisories page before paying for anything: deployment to Kuwait has been suspended and restored more than once after abuse cases involving household workers.

Things to watch

• If you are hired as a household service worker you must NOT be charged a placement fee at all — Republic Act 10361 sec. 13 puts the recruitment cost on the employer, and collecting a fee from a domestic worker is a ground for cancelling the agency's licence. For every other job the placement fee is capped at one month's basic salary and may only be collected once you have a signed contract.
• A job order on the DMW approved list means the government approved the employer's demand and the agency's licence. It does not mean you have been hired, and an order stops being real once its approved slots are filled.
• Household work is the part of this corridor the Philippines has repeatedly stepped in over. Your contract must be MWO-verified, you must never surrender your passport, and you must never be charged a placement fee as a domestic worker.

Official sources

• DMW — Advisories (check before you commit)
• Kuwait Government Online — Working in Kuwait (often unreachable outside the Gulf region)
• DMW — Licensed recruitment agencies (check your agency before you pay)
• DMW — Approved job orders

Jobs in Kuwait right now