Kuwait: Temporary Suspension of Accreditation of Engineering Degrees

The Public Authority of Manpower has temporarily suspended the Kuwait Engineering Society's right to accredit engineering degrees following feedback from engineers and businesses regarding the accreditation process. Accreditation for these degrees will remain suspended until a new accrediting authority is appointed – which is expected in the coming months. As a general rule, in Kuwait, foreign nationals who seek to obtain a work permit to work as an engineer must have their engineering degree accredited by a specific authority in Kuwait.

As a temporary exception to this rule in light of the current situation, foreign engineers can currently obtain a work permit without any accreditation by authorities in Kuwait, provided that their education qualifications are legalized by a Kuwaiti consular post in the country where those qualifications were issued. It is currently unclear if foreign workers who obtain their work permit in this way will subsequently be required to accredit their degree in Kuwait when this again becomes possible.