Kuwait exposes 22 fake labour offices, arrests 106 illegals

Cairo: Kuwaiti police have uncovered 22 fake labour offices and rounded up 106 illegal foreigners in a series of raids mounted in recent weeks as part of a nationwide crackdown on violators of the country’s labour law, the Interior Ministry said.

The illegal offices and workers were exposed in the period of October 1-November 11, the ministry’s relations and security media department said, according to Al Rai newspaper.

Some 2,221 illegal foreigners from different nationalities were referred to the deportation authorities during the same period, the department added without giving a breakdown.

Last month, a total of 2,190 illegal expatriates were also deported from Kuwait, local media reported.

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

The 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.