Refund of health insurance fees

Refunding Health Insurance Fees in Kuwait: When and How?

If you are a resident of Kuwait who has paid health insurance fees and subsequently left the country or had your residence permit cancelled before the end of the year, you may be entitled to a refund of part of the amount. The rules, however, are not straightforward, and many residents forfeit their right because they acted too late or approached the wrong authority.

Quick Answer

A refund of health insurance fees is possible in specific circumstances: cancellation of a residence permit, final departure from Kuwait, or duplicate payment for the same period. The competent authority is the Ministry of Health through the Health Insurance for Expatriates Department (currently administered by "Daman" company following the transfer of the service). The refund is calculated on a pro-rata basis for the remaining months of the insurance year. The current annual fee is KD 130 for an adult resident and KD 50 for a child following the most recent amendment. Refund applications are submitted online or through service centres, and a decision is typically issued within 30 to 60 working days.

When Are You Entitled to a Refund?

A refund is not automatic. Your situation must fall within a recognised ground.

The most common cases:

• Cancellation of the residence permit before the end of the insurance year: If your residence permit expires or is cancelled for any reason (termination of an employment contract, transfer of sponsorship, final departure), you are entitled to claim the value of the remaining months.
• Duplicate payment: The fee is sometimes paid twice — once by the employer and once by the individual when personally renewing the residence permit. This occurs more often than expected.
• Rejection of the residence application: If you paid the fee and the residence application or renewal was subsequently rejected by the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence.
• Death: Heirs may submit a refund application for the remaining period.

What is not refunded: fees for months that have already elapsed during which coverage was in force, even if only in theory. The calculation is proportional, not total.

A point many overlook: if you transfer your sponsorship from one employer to another within Kuwait, you do not need to seek a refund and then pay again — coverage transfers with you within the same insurance year.

How to Submit a Health Insurance Refund Application

The process has been considerably simplified following the digitisation of the service through Daman Health Insurance Company, which manages insurance for residents.

Practical steps:

1. Access the Daman online portal or the government "Sahel" application and search for the "Health Insurance Fee Refund" service.
2. Prepare the required documents: a copy of the Civil ID or passport, a residence cancellation certificate from the General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence, the original payment receipt, and the IBAN of an active Kuwaiti bank account in your name.
3. Complete the application form, specifying the reason for the refund precisely.
4. Upload the documents and submit the application.
5. Track the status of the application through the same portal.

For those who have departed permanently and no longer hold a Kuwaiti bank account: a person inside Kuwait may be authorised by means of a duly notarised power of attorney — authenticated by a notary public or by the Kuwaiti embassy in the country of residence — to collect the amount on your behalf.

The expected processing period is between 30 and 60 working days. Do not wait beyond this period — contact customer service directly.

How Much Will You Actually Receive? The Pro-Rata Calculation

This section surprises many applicants. The amount refunded is not the full amount paid, but the share corresponding to the remaining months of the insurance year.

Practical example: You paid KD 130 in January, and your residence permit was cancelled at the end of July. You effectively benefited from coverage for seven months. You are entitled to a refund for the five remaining months, amounting to approximately:

130 ÷ 12 × 5 = KD 54.16.

The calculation runs from the official date of residence cancellation, not from the date you physically left the country. This is an important distinction. If you travelled in May but your residence was cancelled in August, the calculation starts from August.

Watch out for hidden costs: Some intermediary offices offer to process the refund in exchange for a commission of up to KD 20. The service is free of charge if you submit it yourself through the official portal.

The current statutory health insurance fee for residents is set by Minister of Health Resolution No. 76/1999 and its amendments, and was subsequently increased to KD 130 for adults and KD 50 for children under Council of Ministers decisions regulating health service fees.^[1][2]

The Legal Time Limit and What Happens If You Delay

The general rule governing financial claims before Kuwaiti government authorities is subject to the provisions of the Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure. As a general matter, the right to claim a refund of fees paid without legal basis is extinguished after five years from the date the right arose, in accordance with the general rules of the Kuwait Civil Code (Law No. 67/1980).^[3]

In practice, however, the longer the delay, the more difficult the administrative follow-up becomes. Files are archived, payment systems change, and proving the original payment becomes burdensome.

A straightforward recommendation: submit the application within 90 days of the residence cancellation date. Beyond that, you enter an unnecessary administrative maze.

If your application is rejected, you are entitled to file an objection with the Health Insurance Department, and may subsequently resort to the administrative judiciary through the Administrative Circuit of the Court of First Instance if necessary. Judicial challenge requires strict deadlines — 60 days from the date you are notified of the rejecting decision, pursuant to the Judicial Organisation Law No. 23/1990.

Is litigation worth it for an amount that may not exceed KD 100? In most cases, no. But the principle is yours to assert.

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