Kuwait government urged to extend residency permits of engineers for three months
Call been launched by Federation of Kuwaiti Engineering Offices and Consultant Houses
Cairo: The Kuwaiti government has been asked to renew residency permits of expatriate engineering employees for three months to allow them to readjust their status without facing deportation.
The call has been launched by the Federation of Kuwaiti Engineering Offices and Consultant Houses, arguing that disruptions caused by COVID-19 have affected its affiliates’ work.
The federation’s head Badr Al Salman has sent appeals to the ministers of the interior and social affairs calling for issuing instructions to extend residency permits of engineering offices’ foreign employees, according to Al Rai newspaper.
“This extension for a limited period will allow us to modify the status of our labour and spare them deportation if they cannot meet the deadline for renewing their residency permits before a ministerial deadline at the end of November,” Al Salman said.
He added that the sought-after extension will help the engineering office avoid further losses and possible closure.
Government projects
“The residency extension will strongly contribute to heading off delaying many government projects being supervised and implemented by the engineering offices,” he said.
According to him, those offices are manned by thousands of engineers in different specialisations.
Earlier this week, Kuwaiti authorities urged illegal expatriates and holders of temporary residency permits to legalise their status and warned violators of legal action.
The Interior Ministry said that illegal residents, who fail to apply for legalisation during the grace period, will be liable to legal procedures, including immediate deportation and a ban on return to Kuwait.