Alimony in Kuwait: The Three Types of Spousal Maintenance and Child Support Under the Personal Status Law
Alimony in Kuwait (nafaqa) takes three forms under Personal Status Law No. 51 of 1984: maintenance during the marriage (Articles 74 to 88), iddah maintenance after separation (Articles 162 to 164), and mut'ah, a post-divorce payment of up to one year's maintenance once a valid, consummated marriage ends (Article 165). All three are measured by the husband's means. Child support is owed by a wealthy father for a child who is poor and unable to earn, until the child becomes self-sufficient (Article 202). If the father is insolvent or absent, a wealthy mother pays and it becomes a debt on the father (Article 203).
This guide explains Personal Status Law No. 51 of 1984, as amended, in the Ministry of Justice edition. Ja'fari litigants are governed by Law No. 124 of 2019, and its rules may differ from those described here.
- What is alimony in Kuwait? The three types
- Type one: maintenance during the marriage
- When does a wife's maintenance stop? Refusal and nushuz
- Interim maintenance, changes and arrears
- Type two: iddah maintenance
- Type three: mut'ah
- If the husband stops paying
- Child support in Kuwait
- Who pays for the children? The order of liability
- Practical steps to claim maintenance
- Frequently asked questions
What is alimony in Kuwait? The three types of spousal maintenance
Alimony in Kuwait is a financial right of the wife against her husband, governed by the Personal Status Law. It takes three forms depending on the stage of the relationship: during the marriage, during the iddah (waiting period) after separation, and after the iddah ends in the form of mut'ah.
| Type | When it is due | Articles | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marital maintenance | From a valid contract, once the wife has surrendered herself, even constructively | 74 - 88 | By the husband's means, never below the wife's minimum sufficiency |
| Iddah maintenance | For a woman in iddah after divorce, annulment, or an invalid or mistaken marriage | 162 - 164 | By the husband's means; a debt from the date it falls due |
| Mut'ah | When a valid marriage ends after consummation, unless an exception applies | 165 | Not exceeding one year's maintenance, paid in monthly instalments after the iddah |
Type one: maintenance during the marriage
A wife is entitled to maintenance from her husband under a valid contract, even if she is wealthy or of a different religion, provided she has surrendered herself to him, even constructively (Article 74). Constructive surrender means she is ready to move whenever he calls her, so she does not lose maintenance merely by staying in her family's home before he asks. Her refusal is justified if he has not paid the prompt dowry or has not prepared the lawful home.
- What it covers: food, clothing, housing, and the medical care and service that follow from them, according to custom (Article 75).
- How it is set: by the husband's means, whether easy or tight, whatever the wife's own situation, and never below the wife's minimum sufficiency (Article 76).
- Housing: the husband must house his wife in a home suited to his standing (Article 84). He may not house a co-wife with her without her consent (Article 85), and may not house anyone with her other than his young children, other children whose housing is necessary, and his parents, so long as she suffers no harm (Article 86).
Because the amount depends on the husband's means, proving his real income and assets is the most important part of the wife's claim.
When does a wife's maintenance stop? Refusal and nushuz
| Situation | Rule |
|---|---|
| The wife refuses without justification to move to the marital home, or prevents her husband from living with her in her own home, and he was not the one who refused to relocate her | Her right to maintenance lapses for the period of the proven refusal (Article 87(a)) |
| Proving that a wife is in nushuz | Only by her refusal to comply with a final obedience judgment (Article 87(b)) |
| Enforcing an obedience judgment | It may not be enforced against the wife by force (Article 88) |
| Justified refusal: the husband cannot be trusted with her, did not pay the prompt dowry, did not prepare the lawful home, or refused to maintain her and she could not enforce her maintenance judgment because he has no visible assets | Her right to maintenance does not lapse (Article 87(c)) |
Interim maintenance, changes and arrears
| Rule | What the law provides |
|---|---|
| Interim maintenance (Article 79) | While the case is pending, the judge may, at the wife's request, order the husband to pay interim maintenance, renewed monthly until final judgment. It is immediately enforceable, and the husband may deduct or recover amounts according to the final judgment |
| Increase or decrease (Article 77) | Allowed when the husband's circumstances or local prices change. No claim is heard within one year of the original order except in exceptional emergencies, and any change runs from the date of judgment |
| Maintenance as a debt (Article 78(a)) | From the date of refusal to pay when payment was due, it is a debt on the husband that does not depend on a judgment or agreement and lapses only by payment or release |
| Time limit on arrears (Article 78(b)-(c)) | A claim is not heard for any period of more than two years before the date the case was filed, unless the amount was fixed by agreement. If the husband denies an agreement, it can be proved only in writing |
| Set-off (Articles 80 and 81) | The wife's request to set off her maintenance debt against what she owes him is granted. His request is granted only if she is wealthy and able to pay from her own money |
| Priority in enforcement (Article 82) | A wife's maintenance takes priority in enforcement against the husband's assets, even if they cannot cover other claims |
Type two: iddah maintenance
Maintenance is due to a woman in iddah after divorce, annulment, or entry into an invalid marriage or one entered by mistake (Article 162). Iddah maintenance is a debt on the man from the date it falls due, lapses only by payment or release, and is fixed according to his means (Article 163). By contrast, no maintenance is due to a woman in iddah after the husband's death, even if she is pregnant (Article 164).
A woman in iddah after a revocable divorce must spend it in the marital home except where necessary, and is treated as in nushuz if she leaves without justification (Article 161). The explanatory memorandum notes that lawful regular work is a justification for leaving.
Type three: mut'ah
When a valid marriage ends after consummation, the wife is entitled, besides her iddah maintenance, to mut'ah in an amount not exceeding one year's maintenance according to the husband's means, paid in monthly instalments once her iddah ends, unless the parties agree otherwise on the amount or the manner of payment (Article 165(a)).
The law lists five cases in which mut'ah is not due (Article 165(b)):
- Divorce by the court for non-maintenance because of the husband's insolvency.
- Judicial separation for harm where the harm was caused by the wife.
- Divorce with the wife's consent.
- Annulment of the marriage at the wife's request.
- Death of either spouse.
By implication of the second exception, a separation for harm caused by the husband does not bar mut'ah. For how divorce for harm compares with other routes on financial rights, see our guide: divorce for harm in Kuwait.
If the husband stops paying: divorce for non-maintenance
A wife is not limited to claiming the money. The law lets her seek divorce when her husband refuses to maintain her (Articles 120 to 122):
- Husband present, refusing, no visible assets, insolvency not proven: the judge divorces them immediately, but he can avoid divorce by paying the maintenance due from the date the case was filed.
- Husband proves insolvency, or is absent at a known location, or is imprisoned, with no visible assets: the judge gives him between one and three months, plus travel time, to pay; if he does not, the judge divorces them.
- Husband absent at an unknown location, or missing, with no visible assets: the judge divorces them without a grace period.
- Nature of the divorce: it is revocable, and the husband may take her back during the iddah if he proves to the court that he is solvent enough to keep paying.
- Repetition: if the case for non-maintenance is filed more than twice and the wife seeks divorce for harm, the judge grants an irrevocable divorce.
For the stages of a family-court case, see: how to file for divorce in Kuwait.
Child support in Kuwait
A wealthy father must maintain his child who is poor and unable to earn, until the child becomes self-sufficient (Article 202). The explanatory memorandum clarifies that this covers boys and girls, minors and adults, and that inability to earn exists through youth, through being a girl without actual earnings, through physical disability, and through study where the student is succeeding. Support continues until the child becomes self-sufficient through earnings or money, and for a daughter until she marries, when her maintenance passes to her husband.
| Issue | Rule |
|---|---|
| When support starts (Article 205) | From the date the case is filed or the agreement is made. It is a debt on the person liable and lapses only by payment or release |
| Interim support (Article 207) | The Article 79 rule applies to relatives' maintenance, so interim support can be requested while the case is pending |
| Set-off (Article 206) | No set-off between a child's support owed by the father and a debt the father holds against the custodian |
| Collecting support (Article 197) | The custodian collects the child's maintenance, including housing rent |
| Custody housing rent (Article 198) | Owed by the person liable for the child's maintenance, unless the custodian owns a home she lives in or one set aside for her |
| Custody wage (Article 199) | Not due if she is the father's wife, in an iddah with maintenance from him, or during mut'ah awarded against the child's father. Due until a boy reaches seven and a girl nine |
| Nursing wage (Articles 187 and 188) | Due from the time of nursing. Not due to the mother during the marriage or in an iddah in which she receives maintenance from the father, and not for more than two years from birth |
Who pays for the children? The order of liability
- The wealthy father: the primary obligor for his child who is poor and unable to earn (Article 202).
- The wealthy mother: if the father is insolvent or absent and support cannot be collected from him, she must pay, and it is a debt on the father which she recovers when he becomes solvent (Article 203(a)).
- Whoever would be liable but for the parents: if both parents are insolvent, and it is a debt on the father (Article 203(b)).
- When means fall short: if there are several claimants and the obligor cannot cover them all, priority goes to the wife, then his children, then the mother, then the father (Article 204).
Practical steps to claim maintenance
- Prepare documents: the marriage contract, the children's birth certificates, proof of the husband's income and assets, and proof of household and children's expenses.
- Identify the claim: marital maintenance, iddah maintenance, mut'ah, child support, or several in one case, depending on your situation.
- Ask for interim maintenance: do not wait for the final judgment, since Article 79 allows an immediately enforceable interim order.
- Watch the deadlines: arrears are not heard beyond two years before filing (Article 78), and a claim to increase or decrease is not heard within one year of the order except in exceptional cases (Article 77).
- Put every agreement in writing: if the husband denies an agreement on maintenance, it can be proved only in writing (Article 78(c)).
For official court services, you can consult the Kuwait Ministry of Justice.
Need a legal assessment of your maintenance or your children's support?
Al-Dostour Law Firm handles maintenance claims of every type, divorce for non-maintenance, and increase, decrease and enforcement cases, in full confidence and in Arabic and English.
Call +965 2220 4084WhatsApp usFrequently Asked Questions
What are the three types of spousal maintenance in Kuwait?
Maintenance during the marriage, iddah maintenance after separation, and mut'ah after the iddah ends, capped at one year's maintenance, under Personal Status Law No. 51 of 1984.
How is alimony calculated, and is there a fixed percentage?
The law sets no fixed percentage. Maintenance is set by the husband's means, whatever the wife's own situation, and never below the wife's minimum sufficiency. The court assesses it on the evidence before it.
Is a wealthy wife still entitled to maintenance?
Yes. Maintenance is due under a valid contract even if the wife is wealthy, provided she has surrendered herself to her husband, even constructively.
Does maintenance stop if the wife leaves the marital home?
It lapses for the period of a proven refusal to move to the marital home without justification, but nushuz is only established by refusing a final obedience judgment, which cannot be enforced by force. It does not lapse if her refusal was justified, for example where the prompt dowry was unpaid or the lawful home was not prepared.
When is a wife not entitled to mut'ah?
In five cases: divorce for non-maintenance because of the husband's insolvency, separation for harm caused by the wife, divorce with her consent, annulment at her request, and the death of either spouse.
When does child support end?
It continues for a child who is poor and unable to earn until the child becomes self-sufficient through earnings or money, for a daughter until she marries if she has no actual earnings, and for a succeeding student, as the explanatory memorandum to Article 202 explains.
What if the father is insolvent or absent?
If the mother is wealthy she must pay, and it becomes a debt on the father which she recovers when he becomes solvent. If both parents are insolvent, the person who would be liable but for the parents pays, and it is a debt on the father.
Can I claim unpaid maintenance for past years?
A wife's maintenance is a debt from the date of refusal to pay, but a claim is not heard for any period of more than two years before the date the case is filed, unless the amount was fixed by agreement.
