OBJECTIVES: To determine the first hospital admission rates and the nature of psychiatric disorders among housemaids and compare them with the Kuwaiti female patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Based on the International Classification of Diseases (10th revision; ICD-10) symptom checklist, a semi-structured interview was administered to all the housemaids and the Kuwaiti female patients hospitalized during the 2-year study period. RESULTS: The hospital admission rates were 1.86 times higher in housemaids than in the Kuwaiti female patients and the nature of psychiatric disorders was also different in the two groups. The stress-related disorders were more common among housemaids while schizophrenia was the commonest disorder among Kuwaiti patients. Duration of hospital stay was significantly shorter for housemaids, and four fifths of them were repatriated on mental health grounds. CONCLUSIONS: The psychiatric morbidity is higher among housemaids than Kuwaiti females and a substantial number of them are prematurely repatriated on health grounds. Further studies are needed to explore the possible pre-immigration risk, and post-immigration precipitating factors, to prevent this 'expatriate failure'. Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel Publication Types: Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't