Kuwait halts fine-for-amnesty scheme for illegal residents
Authorities vow clampdown and deportation of illegal expats
Cairo: Kuwaiti authorities have halted a short-lived decree allowing illegal expatriates who came to the country before the year 2020 to readjust their status in return for paying specific fines, Kuwaiti media reported.
“The Interior Ministry is going ahead with its plan to deport violators of residency rules from the country as was the case over the past period,” a security source was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Anba cited verbal instructions at the Interior Ministry halting implementation of the decree in question that was issued days earlier.
The number of illegals, who were supposed to benefit from this arrangement, reached around 110,000 foreigners, the paper quoted a security source as saying.
Kuwait deported record 42,000 expatriates last year for violations of the country’s residence and labour laws as well as for involvement in crimes, according to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas.
Kuwait has recently toughened measures against illegal foreign residents and warned that any expatriate covering up an unlawful resident will be deported too.
Kuwaiti individuals or companies employing illegals will face charges of unlawfully sheltering and covering up illegals.
Foreigners make up around 3.2 million of Kuwait’s overall population of 4.6 million.
The country is endeavouring to redress its population imbalance and replace foreign workers with its citizens as part of an employment policy dubbed “Kuwaitisation”.
There have recently been increasing calls in Kuwait for curbing foreigners’ employment along accusations that migrant workers have strained the country’s infrastructure facilities amid economic repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic.