Kuwait clamps down on fake labour agencies

Cairo: Kuwaiti police cracked down on 27 fake recruitment offices and arrested a total of 253 expatriates as part of a stepped-up clampdown on labour violations in the country, according to a local newspaper.

The arrests included 127 foreign women and 126 male expatriates, Al Anba newspaper reported, citing a security source. The campaign was mounted by the residency affairs police.

Police are strictly instructed to monitor advertisements for employment to expose illegal attempts and sites to recruit runaway and illegal migrant workers and deport them from the country, the source added.

The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry has repeatedly urged Kuwaitis and expatriates against accommodating any labour not covered by their sponsorship and to cooperate with authorities by reporting about illegal workers via a hotline.

Kuwait has repeatedly extended the grace period for illegal residents in the past months to allow time for them to legalise their status.

The Gulf country, of around 4.6 million people mostly migrant workers, has in recent months sought to redress its demographic imbalance amid fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.