Legal Clinic

I was hired from my home country (Philippines) and I resigned from the school I worked for. They will cancel my visa but would not allow a visa transfer (dependent visa) under my husband.

My question is, after they cancel my visa, can my husband get me a dependent visa while here in Kuwait or I need to leave Kuwait and wait for the new visa in my home country? My daughter is here and she is already on dependent visa under my husband’s.

He is earning KD 600 per a month. I hope you can give information regarding this.

Name withheld

Answer: The only way you can get a dependent visa while you are in Kuwait is through a transfer but since the school is not ready to transfer your visa to that of your husband’s as a dependent, you have no alternative than to a return to your home country.

The foregoing is premised on the assumption that you have not served the mandatory three-year service you are required to offer the school before being eligible to request for a release.

However if our assumption is wrong and you have put in the 3-year service, then the school is legally bound to offer you a release under this scenario.

You can file a compliant with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour through the Labour Office in your area and they can compel the school to transfer your residence to your husband’s sponsorship as a dependent.

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I’m working in a company for more than three years now. My management says the business is not doing well and plans in closing the company in a year’s time.

They gave the employees 3 months notice period and has told the employees they can leave earlier if they find new jobs.

Some of the employees have already left the company but the company is still not paying them their annual leave pay and indemnity.

Currently I have not been paid my one month salary and I feel they do not intend to pay me. By the labor law of Kuwait I am allowed to take one day off per week to look for new job. But they are deducting my salary for that day.

Please advise me if should complain to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. Because they are saying once I transfer my visa to a new company they will pay me. Should I transfer my visa to a new company to get my salary and indemnity? Hoping for an advice from you.

Name withheld

Answer: The company is wrong in not paying you one month salary. They are also wrong in deducting the salary for the one day off per week to look for a new job. On the basis of this you won’t be wrong in filing a case against them at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. As for transferring your visa to a new company before being paid your indemnity this is a practice all companies adopt and you can’t do much about that.

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I completed my Bachelor of Electrical & Electronic Engineering in 2007 from Stamford University, Bangladesh and have already 10 years of working experience.

However, I came to Kuwait on 27/1/2017 with a supervisor visa (Project/18/ shoon) and working as an electrical engineer at a local company in Kuwait but on 27/12/2017 I changed my profession from supervisor to electrical engineer and project visa to General/Ahli also changed company licence but same sponsor.

But as per my educational background and job experience I am not getting good salary. Now I want to transfer my sponsor to another but I don’t know whether I will be able to transfer my sponsor or not.

Already, I have a very good job offer in KOC project. Can you please advise me if my current company/sponsor does not give permission to leave then how long do I have to wait to transfer my sponsor? Or how to transfer my Kuwait sponsor to another in a legal way?

Name withheld

Answer: Despite the change from project to the general file of the same sponsor and change of company licence, you have no room to maneuver here and can only leave the company to another company with the expressed permission of your current sponsor.

Remember you first entered Kuwait on a project visa under which the 3-year minimum service before seeking transfer is not applicable.

Under this scenario you have two options:

1. Convince the sponsor not to object to your request for transfer to another company.

2. Cancel you current work permit, go back to Bangladesh and come back on a new visa.

If you cannot execute any of these options, then it will be better to still be with your current sponsor till such time that there is a change of hearts or in the rules.

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My visa is going to expire on Dec 18 & My Driving license on Feb 19. My Visa is Engineers’ visa. Now due to these new rules related to engineer visa, if there is some problem & in my visa designation gets changed to something else, is it going to affect my renewal of driving license also? By next year I will complete 2 years but in my work permit, salary is less than KD 600 but with allowances gross salary is more than KD 600. I can produce salary certificate to show that. Will it help? Please advise.

Name withheld

Answer: Your designation change will definitely affect the renewal of your driving licence. From the information given you got exemptions from not meeting the salary and number of years resident in Kuwait requirement when you applied for the licence. Because of your station as an engineer which is one of the professions exempted form meeting one or more of the requirements needed to apply for a driving licence. It is only your monthly salary as informed in your work permit that is considered in determining whether you meet the salary condition or not and not how much hits your salary account in the bank or a salary certificate issued by your company.

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Hi, can we transfer Government Contracting Engineer Visa to Private Visa. My friend will finish 3 years in July, but his current project was cancelled in March, but his sponsor doesn’t want to transfer visa to any other company either to private visa or government visa. In this case what he should do.

Name withheld

Answer: Your friend’s sponsor has the right to refuse to transfer his visa to a private sector company (which is not permitted) or to another government project with a different sponsor. The law will side with him over this refusal but with the caveat that your friend is not left jobless after the cancellation of the project in question. If the latter is the case, then your friend can file a case against his sponsor to seek redress.

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I am a civil engineer and my licence will expire in November 2018 and visa needs to be renewed before May 23, 2018. As per new engineer visa renewal if I do not get NOC from Kuwait Society of Engineer and my company extends my visa in any other category, can I renew my driving licence.

Name withheld

Answer: If you got your driving licence by satisfying all the three conditions needed to be granted a driving licence, then you should not entertain any fear on renewing your licence after the designation change. On the other hand if as a civil engineer you were granted an exemption from meeting any of the three conditions, we are afraid you may face problem in renewing your licence if at the time of renewal you still don’t meet some of the conditions.

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I am BSc degree holder and my designation is Computer Programmer on work permit. As per new policy do I need to register in Kuwait Society of Engineers to renew my work permit or only engineers need to register in KSE. In this policy only for public sector or private sector Engineers also need to register to renew work permit?

Name withheld

Answer: You are neither a civil or mechanical engineer or any other engineer in the strict sense of the word. With this established, you don’t therefore need to register with the Kuwait Society of Engineers with the aim of getting a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to enable you renew your work permit.

The policy of registering with Kuwait Society of Engineers covers is applicable to all those working as engineers in both the public and private sectors.

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I would like to thank Arab Times for giving guidance to expat community on legal matters.

I am an Indian and my father died 7 yrs back in Kuwait, we have misplaced his death certificate issued by Indian Embassy and now for legal matters need for having original copy has cropped up. However I have photo copy of the death certificate issued. Kindly advise how to obtain a original copy from Indian Embassy. Kindly we are not in Kuwait.

Name withheld

Answer: As you know all embassies in Kuwait keep record of births and deaths of all their respected nationals.

To obtain a copy you will need to check with your friends/relatives who will represent you and be willing to go to embassy and do your work.

following documents are required for those who are out of Kuwait

• No objection / Authorization letter ( You need to mention details of deceased person such as name, date of death, person whom you have authorized to collect the document, his civil id no, his passport no and address. Kindly note If Father is expired only Mother has right to give authorization letter. If both parents have expired then only you are authorized and for what purpose you need it)
• Photocopy of death certificate which you have
• Photocopy of death certificate issued by Kuwait (it will be in arabic)
• Photocopy of death certificate issued by Kuwait translated to English from Arabic
• Passport copy of Authorized person who will be representing you(first page, residence page and last page)
• Civil ID copy
• Your passport copy
• Photocopy of your fathers passport (last stamped before taking the body to India)

The authorized person will have to go in morning to counter no 1 at Indian embassy and apply (7 KD are charges) by 4 pm in evening he will be called to collect the document.

To make it a legal document the authorized person will have to go to Ministry of Foreign affairs and attest it by paying KD 5

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I and my wife are working here in Kuwait. We are both on visa 18. We have a baby who was born in Kuwait. Later I sent the baby to my home country. Then after two years we brought the baby to Kuwait on a visit visa. Now the baby is with us here in Kuwait. My salary is KD 200 and my wife salary is KD 225. Can we get Iqama for our baby?

Name withheld

Answer: No, you can’t because you are earning less than KD 450 a month and your wife’s monthly salary of KD 225 is of no relevance since the practice of coupling husband and wife salary to make up the magic figure has long been discontinued.

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I am working on a govt project as an industrial nurse for the last 3 years. But I came to Kuwait on farm visa in 2012. After I completed one year I changed to normal shoon visa (company visa). Now I got a good offer in a company, is it possible to change my visa to the company from the current project visa? Hope I will get the reply soon.

Name withheld

Answer: To the best of our knowledge, direct transfer of project visa to company visa is not allowed and the same applies to transfer of farm visa to a different visa other than the same farm visa but with a different sponsor. This not withstanding and taking into consideration your claim that you were able to transfer your farm visa to a company visa, we can only advise that you try again and who knows you can be lucky again for the second time.

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