The political events that have taken place in Yemen since the beginning of 2011 have not only greatly affected the local population but also migrants and refugees residing in the country. While Yemen was for a long time mainly regarded as a sending country in migration, since the early 1990s it has also turned into a receiving country. After the outbreak of the civil war in Somalia and the downfall of Mengistu’s regime in Ethiopia the numbers of migrants and refugees to Yemen have been growing exponentially. Most of them aspire to move on to the oil-rich countries on the Arabian Peninsula or to Europe and North America, but get stuck in Yemen for longer or shorter periods of time. While job opportunities for male refugees and migrants were very limited, migrant and refugee women could easily find employment as domestic workers in urban areas. The events of the past two years have had a great impact on migrants and refugees. As a result of the deteriorating economic and political situation many migrant women lost their jobs while migrant and refugee men were accused of siding with the government or the opposition. Yet, the political instability has also resulted in a weakening of immigration policies and irregular migration from the Horn of Africa has increased. In this paper I will describe and analyze the gendered impact of the Yemeni crisis on migration from the Horn of Africa, with particular attention for domestic workers. Which changes have taken place in Yemen’s domestic labour market? Is there still a demand for paid domestic labour and who is filling that demand? How have migrant women responded to the crisis? And how are newly arrived male migrants supporting themselves? The paper is based on anthropological fieldwork in Yemen in February 2013, the analysis of media reports and secondary sources.