‘Around 150,000 Arabs, Asians are staying illegally in country’ – ‘Violators shift jobs, homes to escape police checks’

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KUWAIT CITY, Aug 10: Around 150,0- 00 expatriates, mostly Egyptians and Asians, are currently registered as violators of the Residency Law, reports Al-Shahed daily. These expatriates came to the country on work permits and sponsored by companies and institutions, but most of them are now holding expired civil IDs.

This official information shows that the residency of a large number of these expatriates expired more than eight and nine years ago. A considerable percentage of them missed the chance to legalize their status through the previous ministerial decisions which were issued to their advantage as they insisted on violating the law.

They also failed to pay fines imposed on them to renew their residency or travel to their home country and then return on new visa. Reasons for not taking advantage of the grace periods to amend their status vary, as some of them do not want to return to their home countries because of military conscription, feuds, lack of money or pending court cases.

Security authorities apprehended a large number of offenders through checkpoints or campaigns. The erring expatriates move from one place to another and work in different locations, away from the eyes of securitymen.

Fake nurses, beauticians: Plainclothes men from the Residency Affairs Department in the Interior Ministry, in collaboration with the Joint Tripartite Commission with members from the Kuwait Municipality and ministries of Social Affairs, Labor, Commerce and Industry seized 12 Indian and Filipino women for violating the Labor Law, reports Al-Rai daily.

According to a security source, a campaign was carried out in a number of medical centers and beauty salons in Al-Sha’ab Al-Bahari area resulted in the arrest of the 12 Asian women working as nurses in medical clinics and hairdressers in beauty salons although they hold Article 20 visas (domestic laborers).

Workers arrested: The Tripartite Committee in the Council of Ministers conducted surprise inspections in 25 restaurants to ensure compliance with the Labor and Residency laws as well as public hygiene regulations, reports Al-Rai daily. Forty workers were arrested and referred to the concerned authorities for violating the above mentioned laws and some of them were found to be suffering from skin diseases

By Munaif Nayef
Al-Seyassah Staff and Agencies

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