Kuwait automates end-of-service steps for expats

Cairo: Kuwait has finalised a process automating settlement procedures linked to expatriates’ end of service at government institutions as the country is ramping up replacement of foreign workers with citizens.

The state employment agency, the Civil Service Commission announced the completion of the automation process for outgoing expat employees, doing without paperwork, with the aim of saving time and effort as well as ensuring accuracy of the data, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai reported.

The shift to automation will also facilitate the procedures for implementing the replacement policy at all government agencies, it added.

Additionally, it is set to contribute to the disbursement of dues to foreign employees after ensuring that all financial obligations owed by them to the state are settled.

The Commission, meanwhile, denied there was discussion about cancelling or amending the end-of-service gratuity for state employees.

As of September last year, Kuwait began implementing a government decree requiring all expatriates to pay their electricity and water bills before their departure from the country.

Earlier, the Interior Ministry alerted foreigners to clear all their outstanding traffic fines before leaving Kuwait.

The government has said the measures are aimed to protect state money and collect overdue revenue.

Expatriates constitute 3.3 million of Kuwait’s overall population of 4.9 million.

In recent years, Kuwait has intensified efforts to create jobs for its citizens, replace foreign employees under a policy dubbed “Kuwaitisation”, and address a demographic imbalance in the country.

Recent official figures have shown that the numbers of expatriates in Kuwait have dropped by 8,845 at the end of June compared to January.

Kuwait has recently toughened measures against illegal foreign residents and warned that any expatriate covering up an unlawful resident will be deported too.