Living in Kuwait City, Kuwait
Kuwait City is a smaller coastal city in Al Asimah, Kuwait (under 250,000 people in the city proper). It has a warm climate, averaging 27°C over the year with about 130 mm of rain. We estimate a couple needs about €2,776 a month to live centrally, and Kuwait sits in our zero or very low tax tier. For citizens from outside the Gulf Cooperation Council states, long-term residency in Kuwait is hard to obtain.
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- Est. cost
- €2,776
- a month for a couple
- Tax tier
- Zero or very low
- personal income tax
- Climate
- 27°C
- 130 mm rain a year
- Size
- Smaller
- under 250,000 people
- Safety
- 78/100
- country-level
- Internet
- ~120 Mbps
- median fixed broadband
- Residency
- Hard to obtain
- outside free-movement blocs
What stands out about Kuwait City
- No or very low personal income tax
- Warmer than 92% of the cities we track
- Safer than 92% of the cities we compare
- Dry: about 130 mm of rain a year
- Long-term residency is hard to obtain from outside the Gulf Cooperation Council states
Taxes
Kuwait sits in our zero or very low tax tier: little to no personal income tax. We use three tiers (zero or very low, low to medium, high) and apply them to every city in the country.
Source: OurNextCity tax tiers, assigned by hand from each country's top marginal personal income tax rate and overall tax reputation, with no fixed rate cut-offs. Country-level and coarse by design; not tax advice.
Climate
Kuwait City averages 27°C across the year with about 130 mm of rain, which makes it warm and very dry. It is warmer than 92% of the 1225 cities we track, and it sits on the coast.
Source: Temperature from the Open-Meteo historical weather archive, daily means for 2019 to 2023; rainfall from TerraClimate (University of Idaho) 1991 to 2020 normals. Annual averages; monthly breakdowns are not in our dataset yet.
Residency and visas
Hard to obtain, for people from outside the Gulf Cooperation Council states. Residency is overwhelmingly sponsor-tied (kafala); the only self-funded long-term routes are a discretionary investor permit (KDIPA-licensed business), a property-owner permit, and a new self-sponsored category, with no permanent residency or realistic citizenship.
Citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council states have freedom-of-movement or simplified residency rights here.
The cheapest self-funded routes we track for Kuwait:
- Investment: about $650k (Kuwait property-owner 10-year residency (effective 23 Dec 2025); no fixed statutory minimum, case-by-case, but a qualifying private home runs ~KD 200,000-300,000, with KD 200,000 the practical low end (1 KWD = ~3.26 USD); foreign individual ownership is itself tightly restricted (10-year prior residency, one home, 1,000 sqm cap); as of June 2026)
For short visits, 5 of 198 passports can enter visa-free, 53 can get an e-visa or visa on arrival and 140 need a visa in advance.
Source: OurNextCity residency dataset, hand-reviewed approximations researched against published immigration rules, figures as of June 2026. Not legal advice: check the official source before you apply. Short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset (ilyankou, MIT).
Safety and stability
Kuwait scores 78 out of 100 on safety, safer than 92% of the cities we compare. Its EIU Democracy Index score is 3.8 out of 10.
Source: Our own country-level safety estimate (0 to 100, higher is safer), shared by every city in Kuwait. Stability: EIU Democracy Index.
Healthcare
Kuwait scores 70 out of 100 for healthcare, stronger than 71% of the cities we compare.
Source: Our own country-level healthcare estimate (0 to 100), shared by every city in Kuwait.
Language and culture
Main languages: Arabic. English proficiency: some. Social openness scores 40 out of 100.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index (country-level); social openness is our secularism and tolerance composite.
Cost of living
We estimate a couple needs about €2,776 a month to live centrally in Kuwait City, 2% above the €2,729 median across the 900 cities we compare. That makes it more affordable than 43% of them.
Source: OurNextCity model: a country-level cost index (New York = 100) scaled up for larger cities. An estimate for comparing cities, not a budget.
Internet and remote work
Median fixed broadband in Kuwait runs at about 120 Mbps, faster than 46% of the cities we compare.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index, median fixed broadband download speed, country-level.
Questions couples ask about Kuwait City
Is Kuwait City a good place to live for couples?
It depends on what the two of you weigh most. Compared with the other cities we track, Kuwait City scores well on safety and healthcare. It is weaker on social openness. Expect a warm, very dry climate (27°C average). OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Kuwait City and 914 other cities for both of you at once.
How much does it cost a couple to live in Kuwait City?
We estimate about €2,776 a month for a couple living centrally, 2% above the €2,729 median across the cities we compare. It is a model estimate from a country-level cost index adjusted for city size, so use it to compare cities rather than to set a budget.
What are taxes like in Kuwait City?
Kuwait is in our zero or very low tax tier (little to no personal income tax). Tiers are country-level and deliberately coarse: zero or very low, low to medium, and high.
Can foreigners live in Kuwait long term?
Citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council states have freedom-of-movement or simplified residency rights. Our assessment for everyone else: hard to obtain. Residency is overwhelmingly sponsor-tied (kafala); the only self-funded long-term routes are a discretionary investor permit (KDIPA-licensed business), a property-owner permit, and a new self-sponsored category, with no permanent residency or realistic citizenship. The cheapest self-funded routes we track: investment, about $650k (as of 2026-06).
What is the weather like in Kuwait City?
Kuwait City averages 27°C across the year with about 130 mm of rain, which makes it warm and very dry. It is warmer than 92% of the cities we track.
Cities like Kuwait City
Closest matches in other countries across climate, size, coast, cost, safety, healthcare, internet, language and politics.
Near Kuwait City
Moving to Kuwait as a couple
Entry, residency, taxes and costs for a couple who both hold one of these passports.