13,000 expats deported from Kuwait this year
900 more being held and their deportation is a ‘matter of time’
Cairo: Around 13,000 expatriates have been deported from Kuwait in the past 10 months over involvement in offences, according to a media report.
Some of the deportees, who belonged to all nationalities, were sent home in a step dictated by protecting Kuwait’s public interests, Al Qabas newspaper said, citing security sources that did not elaborate.
Ninety per cent of the deportees were expelled upon court rulings related to criminal and misdeameanour cases while the remaining 10 per cent were deported in response to administrative orders, they said. There are 900 more foreign men and women are being kept in Kuwait’s Deportation Prison and their deportation is a “matter of time”, according to the sources.
40,000 deported
However, the numbers of foreigners deported so far from Kuwait are below those of the deportees over the past two years. Around 40,000 expatriates were deported last year and 34,000 in 2018, according to the same sources.
The low figures of the current year are due to measures taken to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, including the suspension of global air travel.
In August, Kuwait banned flights with dozens of “high-risk” countries, citing concerns over the spread of COVID-19.
In recent months, Kuwait has unveiled plans to replace citizens with migrant workers amid calls for minimising expatriates to redress demographic imbalance in the country.
Foreigners account for nearly 3.4 million of Kuwait’s 4.8 million population.