Sri Lankan Ambassador to Kuwait Kandeepan Balasubramaniam

KUWAIT CITY, March 6: A total of 5,275 Sri Lankan nationals staying illegally in the country have returned home since the beginning of the amnesty period that the Interior Ministry granted to foreigners who violated the Residency Law, reports Al-Rai daily quoting Sri Lankan Ambassador to Kuwait Kandeepan Balasubramaniam.According to the ambassador, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Kuwait has so far issued 7,500 new passports. He said the embassy receives about 75 new passport applications daily from those who want to leave the country. He expects that around 8,000 Sri Lankan nationals will benefit from the amnesty and leave before the grace period ends.He disclosed many Sri Lankans, who violated the Residency Law, want to transfer to new sponsors and they are ready to pay fines but the required approval of the previous sponsor hinders them from doing so. He hopes to discuss with the ministry the possibility of canceling the condition to obtain approval from the previous sponsor to transfer to another sponsor.