Is a VPN legal in Kuwait, and what is actually blocked?
VPNs are legal in Kuwait. There is no law banning them and no licensing requirement for individuals; the apps are on the Kuwaiti app stores and the large expat workforce uses them openly. What the law targets is what you publish. The Cybercrime Law (Law No. 63 of 2015, in force since January 2016) carries fines and up to ten years in prison for content that insults the emir, the judiciary or religion, and Freedom House's 2025 report records two-year sentences for posts on X about the dissolution of parliament. A VPN changes none of that. Treat it as a privacy tool, not cover for something you would not post at home.
Blocking is narrower than most people expect. The regulator filters pornography, gambling and sites judged a threat to national unity or public morals. Voice and video calls on WhatsApp, FaceTime, Messenger and Zoom work on Zain, Ooredoo and stc without a workaround, so the VoIP problem that drives VPN demand in Dubai and Doha does not apply here. Streaming is the usual story: Netflix and BBC iPlayer show a Kuwaiti library or nothing without a connection back home.
The everyday reason is public Wi-Fi. Hotel, cafe and mall networks in Kuwait City are open and busy, and banking and work logins should not cross them unencrypted. If something breaks at 2am local time, 24/7 live chat from NordVPN or Surfshark matters more than any feature list.
What a VPN does and does not do in Kuwait
A VPN encrypts everything between your device and the VPN server, so the hotel network, the carrier and anyone sharing the Wi-Fi see only scrambled traffic. It also lets you choose where you appear to be: a UK server makes your bank, iPlayer and Netflix behave as they do at home, while a Kuwait server (NordVPN lists one in Kuwait City) makes local banking portals treat you as domestic.
It will not make slow hotel Wi-Fi fast, it will not stop the Cybercrime Law applying to what you post, and some streaming services block VPN ranges regardless of provider. Both picks come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so test them on your actual network: NordVPN for a shorter trip, Surfshark if you plan to stay.
Recommended VPNs for Kuwait
NordVPN, best for short trips and month-by-month plans
It is the one for you if you are covering yourself, or you and a partner, and want something simple to run and easy to forget about. One plan covers 10 devices, and the apps are quick to install and easy to switch off and on as you need. Plans run by the month, the year or over two years, all with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Surfshark, best for long stays and unlimited devices
It is the one for you if one subscription needs to cover everyone. Connections are unlimited, so every phone, laptop and tablet you travel with, and anyone you share a place with, runs on the same plan at once. That suits a stay that stretches to months rather than weeks. It sells the same three terms and adds bonus months on the longer two, with the same 30-day money-back guarantee.
Server networks and speeds for Kuwait
NordVPN's published server list includes Kuwait City, alongside Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Jordan. Surfshark does not list Kuwait; its nearest locations are the UAE and Saudi Arabia. A Dubai or Manama server adds only a few milliseconds from Kuwait, so either provider is fine for browsing and video calls, and for UK streaming you route to London either way.
Local networks are quick. Opensignal's November 2025 report put average downloads at 104.6 Mbps on Ooredoo, 100.4 Mbps on Zain and 83.3 Mbps on stc, with Zain's 5G averaging over 300 Mbps. Kuwait switched off 3G in June 2025, so bring a 4G or 5G handset.
How to choose between them
The differences that matter fit in one table, and the last two rows are there to name two promises you should not believe from anyone, us included.
| Feature | NordVPN | Surfshark |
|---|
| 1 month | $14.99 | $16.45 |
| 1 year plan, total upfront | $65.88 (12 months billed) | $50.85 (15 months billed) |
| 2 year plan, total upfront | $94.23 (27 months billed) | $67.23 (27 months billed) |
| Devices per plan | 10 | Unlimited |
| Kill switch and auto-connect | Yes | Yes |
| Independently audited no-log policy | Yes (2025) | Yes (2025) |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
| Guarantees access to any blocked site, anywhere | No | No |
| Makes slow Wi-Fi faster | No | No |
On a single month NordVPN is cheaper. Over a year or two Surfshark is. On everything else the choice is about shape rather than money: 10 devices and a simple setup on one side, unlimited devices on the other.
Setting up before you travel
Do the setup at home, on Wi-Fi you trust, before the airport. Install NordVPN or Surfshark on each device, sign in, and connect once to confirm everything works. Then turn on two settings both apps include: the kill switch, which stops your traffic travelling unprotected if the VPN drops, and auto-connect, which brings the VPN back up when your connection returns.
Nothing you need is blocked in Kuwait, so the main job is to log in before you fly, turn on the kill switch so a dropped connection on hotel Wi-Fi does not leak traffic, and set a UK server as your default if you rely on banking apps or iPlayer. Our Best eSIMs for Kuwait guide covers getting online the moment you land; both VPN apps work on an eSIM data plan as well as Wi-Fi.
Final recommendation
Kuwait is a straightforward country for VPN use: legal, no VoIP blocking, fast mobile networks. For a short trip or business visit, NordVPN is the pick. It has a server in Kuwait City, useful for a local IP with Kuwaiti banking, and ten device connections cover a family or a work kit.
If you are posting to Kuwait for a contract or moving with a household, Surfshark is the better value. Unlimited devices covers every phone, laptop and TV stick on one account, and its nearby UAE and Saudi servers keep latency low for daily use.
