Kuwait announced on Monday that it would lift a visa ban on domestic workers from the Philippines, ending a year-long suspension that arose from disputes over the rights of employers and employees.
According to an interior ministry statement published by the official KUNA news agency, the Gulf state and Manila reached an “agreement to resume the recruitment of domestic workers” following a “breakthrough” in their discussions.
“The countries agreed to form a joint committee pertinent to domestic labour affairs,” the statement noted. This committee “would convene in a routine manner to address any sticking points that could potentially emerge.”
The suspension of new visas for Philippine nationals was initially imposed by Kuwait in May last year, following tensions over the murder of domestic worker Jullebee Ranara. Her charred body was discovered in the Kuwaiti desert in January 2023, leading Manila to halt the deployment of first-time workers to Kuwait.
This development marked the latest episode in a series of disputes between the Philippines and Kuwait, which hosts a significant population of Filipino domestic workers.
In 2020, the Philippines had reimposed a ban on its citizens working in Kuwait after a Filipina was allegedly killed by her employer. Similarly, a 2018 conflict erupted when the body of a murdered Filipina maid was found in her employers’ freezer.
