On 20 August 2026 the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office removed its advice against all but essential travel to Kuwait. British nationals can now travel there without that standing warning against the whole country, subject to the usual local advice.
The move follows a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran announced on 17 June. The FCDO is clear that the wider Middle East remains unstable. Since 8 July there have been Iranian strikes and retaliatory attacks across the region, including in Kuwait, aimed at US military and civilian infrastructure, and the Foreign Office warns of the potential for further attacks and unforeseen escalation.
The advice still tells travellers to prepare for possible flight cancellations and airspace closures, to keep travel documents current, to avoid military facilities, and to follow shelter guidance if it is issued. That is the practical read for anyone moving a principal through Kuwait or the surrounding airspace.
For protective teams the change matters in two ways. It reopens Kuwait as a routing and staging option that had carried a formal FCDO warning, which affects insurance and client risk sign-off. And it is a reminder to read the region by country rather than as one block, because a downgrade in one Gulf state sits alongside live strike activity in others. Treat this as a conditional improvement and keep contingency plans for airspace disruption in place.
