The Kuwait Ministry of Interior announced a partial amnesty for all illegal residents in the country.
Illegal residents are allowed to pay their fines to either legalize their status or leave the country without being blacklisted. By not being blacklisted, the residents can return on a new visa in the future.
However, this amnesty will only apply if the illegal residents come forward to the ministry. The ministry’s Director of Public Relations and Security Media Brig Adel Al-Hashash said all residency affairs departments across the country are ready to receive violators who want to remedy their legal status, pay their fines, and leave the country.
Read : Foreigners living illegally in Kuwait may leave under an Amnesty
However, residents who did not apply for amnesty and are caught by security personnel will be deported and banned from returning after fully paying their fees. Therefore, the ministry encouraged violators and those who face legal cases to hurry and remedy their legal status. Usually, a person found overstaying in Kuwait is fined KD 2 (PhP310) per day and is capped at a maximum of KD 600 (PhP93,000).
Domestic helpers and their employers will also be held legally accountable, as well as those who hide and do not report an offender. The ministry advises that the residents should carry their legal documents with them at all times. The employers are also urged to renew their employees’ visas before they expire.
Meanwhile, the Ministry continues to crack down on fake domestic helpers’ offices. Authorities have already arrested people on charges of using maids for illegal practices and encouraging them to escape from their current employers to work for others.
Source : Kuwait Times
