New rule for expat families in Kuwait: Father's approval mandatory for kids' departure
Measure aims to prevent legal issues arising from marital disputes
Cairo: Kuwaiti authorities have put into effect a decree whereby expatriates' children are not allowed to leave the country without a written approval from their fathers, according to a Kuwaiti media report.
The Interior Ministry represented by the passport directorate is enforcing the measure at all departure outlets of Kuwait, Al Qabas newspaper said. The step is a "precautionary and organisational" measure to head off potential problems that result from marital disputes, the paper quoted an official source as saying.
"If the father is the sponsor of his children inside the country, the children will not be allowed to travel with their mother without his approval to avoid problems if they don’t return due to marital differences or other reasons," explained the source.
There are cases when the children are under the father's custody and they may travel with the mother without the father's knowledge in violation of law, the source added.
There was no comment from authorities on the report.
Foreigners constitute around 3.3 million of Kuwait's overall population of 4.8 million.
Kuwait has recently upgraded rules for expatriates' residency and work. Last week, the Interior Ministry said an unspecified number of foreign visitors who overstayed their visas and their sponsors had been deported from the country for violating the related regulations.
In addition, Kuwaiti security agencies are pursuing a massive-scale crackdown on foreign violators of the country's residency law, after they failed to take advantage of a three-month grace period to rectify their status. The amnesty, which commenced on March 17, allowed illegal expatriates to readjust their residency status or willingly leave the country without paying fines. The deadline ended on June 30.