Cairo: Kuwait does not plan to renew a series of grace periods it has offered in the past months to illegal expatriates to modify their residence status, a Kuwaiti newspaper said, citing a security source.
“With the latest grace period, issued in June, not renewed, those who have not complied will be subjected to related penalties. They will not be allowed to legalise their residence, will be deported from the country and will not be allowed to return,” the unnamed source added, according to Al Anba.
The illegals will also pay fines resulting from their violations, i.e one dinar per day starting from the expiry of the last deadline, the source said.
Legal measures can also be taken against sponsors who did not ensure the departure of the illegal foreigners covered by their sponsorship. The penalties can include a ban on future sponsorship, according to the source.
“There are no justifications for the violators since the start of the pandemic to stay in the country because hundreds of flights have since left the Kuwait airport which was not closed for departure flights during the total or partial health curfews [imposed in the country],” the source added.
There are no specific number of illegal residents in Kuwait. Last year, they were estimated at about 100,000 visa violators.
Kuwait has repeatedly extended the grace period for illegal foreign residents to readjust their status in the past months.
The first grace period began in March last year following the global coronavirus outbreak and was supposed to end in May 2020.
The Gulf country has in recent months sought to redress its demographic imbalance amid fallout from the pandemic.
