Kuwait Announces Amnesty Duration for Illegal Residents

Expats in Kuwait whose applications for residency had been rejected or whose residency permits had expired should either rectify their status or leave the country between Jan. 29 and Feb. 22, 2018, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khaled Al- Jarrah Al-Sabah said.

All expats not having residence permits or expired residence should leave the country during the stipulated time period through official exit channels. The procedures should be executed at the exit points and no approval from any other authority is required, the decision, taken on Jan. 23, states, the Arab Times reported. The amnesty is expected to benefit about 130,000 violators of residency laws, according to Kuwait Times.

The decision has been divided into several articles that explain the different recourses that expatriates can take under different circumstances. Article two of the decision states that anyone who wants to get residency permits for these expatriates and is willing to pay fines without referral to the authorities concerned to investigate would have to compensate with a fine. That would normalize their status, subject to their satisfying the conditions for granting these people residency permits.

Also, if a person is arrested within the mentioned period, it shall be taken as a violation of the Residency Law and the person will be deported immediately, if it has not been decided to deport these people along the lines of the provisions of the Constitution.

“Expatriates who violated the Residency Law with administrative or judicial obstacles that could prevent them from leaving the country should visit the Residency Affairs General Department to know the conditions for obtaining residence permit, according to rules and regulations stipulated for the period mentioned in Article One of this decision,” said Article four, the report added.

If expatriates who have violated the Residency Law leave the country within the period mentioned, they will be excused from penalties or fines and decisions to execute a person. This is, however, not applicable in cases of people who decide to enter Kuwait after the decision has been issued for those who violate it after the date specified.

Expats who decide to leave Kuwait according to rules defined in this decision will be allowed to return through legal channels, unless they are stopped for other reasons.

This is expected to bring relief to the hundreds of Indian workers of the Kharafi National company who are stranded in Kuwait without pay for months. About 2,000 Indian workers in Kuwait have not received wages from the construction company, where they have been working for over a year.

On Jan. 11, the stranded Indian employees were assured help by Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. VK Singh during his visit to the country.