14/09/2019
14/09/2019
I had communicated with an agent who assured to help me get a work visa under article 18 if I paid him a large sum of money.
The date of my entry into Kuwait was July 5, 2019. One week later, the agent referred me to someone for completing my medical procedures.
After the medical procedures were completed, the agent said I have to pay KD 150 for the residency and KD 10 for the civil ID.
He said there was no need for me to meet the Kuwaiti sponsor as he would help me with the whole process. I gave the agent the money and all the documents he requested including my passport and my entry visa.
From mid-August, the agent has been saying the Kuwaiti sponsor is busy, and that the agent had traveled to his country for holidays.
When I called him recently, he said the Kuwaiti has traveled and will return only after one month. If my visa expires, I will be staying illegal in this country. I do not want to face any problems in this country and I want to stay here legally. Since completing my medical procedures, I have been staying indoors and cannot go outside because my official documents are not with me.
I do not know my Kuwaiti sponsor and I do not have his number. I only know the agent who said he will help me get the work visa but he is always telling different stories.
I would like to know what I should do in order to stay legally in Kuwait. When will my visa expire? My entry to Kuwait was July 5, 2019.
Name withheld
Answer: Unfortunately you have joined the club of illegal residents in Kuwait since you failed to make sure that all processes regarding your residence permit were completed within the two-month window provided. Indeed according to the rules these processes should have been completed on or before September 5 as you entered the country on July 5.
Your case is a classic example of the menace of visa trading bedevelling Kuwait and you have allowed yourself, may be unwittingly to become an accessory to the commitment of crime.
For your information, paying monies, as you have alluded to, for the purpose of getting a visa is a crime punishable like any other crime.
To cut the story short, we advise you to come out of hiding, make the necessary arrangements to leave the country as your entry visa has expired and for each day that you stay in Kuwait after September 5, you will pay a penalty.
This means that the penalty you will pay will be manageable as you haven’t over be stayed for too many days. If you leave Kuwait on your own now, it is better than to be arrested in future and be deported and thus make it impossible for you to return to Kuwait another day.
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