Legal Clinic

  • Status of family visa if sponsors cancels his residence and comes back on new visa

    Currently I am in Kuwait on a project visa. I came here first on a visit and the company transferred me to their project file in 2012.

    Later in 2016 I got another job and I changed my visa to current company project file. Now I found another job, but it does not have a project. So they are willing to issue me a visa so I will cancel my current visa and go back to India.

    The problem is my family (wife and son are with me in Kuwait under my sponsorship and their visas are valid until 2019). I would like to know if I cancel my current visa, my family residence will also be cancelled automatically or if not cancel they can go back to India and come back with me on my new visa?

    Name withheld

    Answer: Under Kuwait law the residences of your wife and son are tied to your residence because you are their sponsor. In this case if you cancel your residence, their residences will also have to be cancelled and failure to do that will mean their stay in Kuwait will be classified as illegal with its attending consequences. In short you have to exit Kuwait with the family members after cancelling their visas. However, when returning with the new visa, your wife and son have to be left behind. They may rejoin you after you process your own papers and then reapply for a new family visa for them.

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  • Loan shark operations in Kuwait

    I am looking for a legal advise as I am facing serious problem due to lack of my passport. I am residing in Kuwait since November 1998 and working in a private company.

    I took a loan of KD 2,000 from a private loan lender on 4th July 2017 at the interest rate of 10%/month. They asked me make (Iqrar den) from court and submit my original passport as guarantee. I made iqrar den for KD 2,000 as I am borrowing KD 2,000 credit from a money lender and I will return within 10 months KD 200 monthly.

    I submitted iqrar den and my original passport to the money lender then he gave me KD 1700, as he deducted 10% interest of one month. After one month again I paid interest KD 300.

    Then third month interest I could not pay due to some personal issues. He called me to his office and asked me to sign a kambiala of KD 500 (KD 300 interest + KD 200 late fine) and I signed. Again I paid interest two more months KD 300 + KD 300. But unfortunately in the middle of December 2017 I lost my job and since then I could not pay him interest.

    Now the main problem is my Visa expired on 30th March 2018 and I am running behind him since 23rd March 2018 to release my passport for residency renewal but he is not ready to release my passport.

    Currently I am illegal in Kuwait as my residency expired on 30th March 2018. Please advise what should I do now, should I go to police station.

    Name withheld

    Answer: These private money lenders popularly known as loan sharks are operating an illegal business in Kuwait.

    In fact, while the law doesn’t necessarily prohibit an individual from giving a loan to another, the law unambiguously makes it an offence for interest to be charged for such a loan granted.

    To curtail the flourishing business of these loan sharks, it is a high time that people like you take a stand. As a first step we advise that you try again to convince him to release your passport to you to enable you sort out your residency issue. If he remains intransigent, we suggest you file a case against this loan shark at a police station for illegally keeping your passport and making it possible for you to renew your residence permit.

    The loan and interest issues will crop up in the course of dealing with the passport issue. And here you have to take a stand. If you can’t get witnesses to prove that this man loans money to people including you and that you have been paying him interest on you loan.

    The man might dispute your claim of him charging you interest but agree that he had only extended a loan of KD 2,000 to you which you have refused to repay in our calculation you have so far paid an interest of KD 1,700 on the KD 2,000. If this is not outrageous we don’t know what it is.

    In our estimation if you can demonstrate successfully that you have paid this amount in interest charges the man might issue that these payments were only installment for the loan settlement since he knows the consequences of agreeing that they were indeed interest payments.

    In this scenario you will be left with KD 300 to give to the ‘shark’. On the other hand, if you can’t prove payments of the interest charges the KD 1,700 would have gone to the drains.

    The most weekly settlement here might be that you would be asked to live up to your contraband obligations (iqar deen) and settle the KD 2000 loan.

    You will however be saved from continuing to pay the illegal interest payments. We must however caution that in what ever step you take you should be aware that some these loan sharks can be ruthless as they are tied to some of influential men. It is therefore all up to you as to whether you want to take a stand or not.

     

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  • Time limit to re-enter Kuwait on new work visa

    Is there any time limit to re-enter Kuwait on new work visa after cancelling my current work visa?

    Name withheld

    Answer: No, there is no time limit. You can re-enter Kuwait anytime your new work visa is ready.

     

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  • Graduate Engineer – Can I change job after one year

    I am a graduate engineer. All my certificates were attested with Kuwait embassy. My doubt is can I change my job after one year? Current company recruited me from India. I heard that the degree holders can change the job before 3 years of service.

    Name withheld

    Answer: No, you can’t since you were not hired locally but brought to Kuwait from your country by your current sponsor. Under the Kuwait Labour Law you are mandated to work for the company for three years. You can only join another company, if the current company has no objection.

     

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  • Sponsoring wife on dependent visa

    Can I sponsor my wife with KD 400 monthly salary + KD 100 allowance in Kuwait?

    Name withheld

    Answer: No you can’t, because the law says that to sponsor someone on a family visa you should be earning a monthly salary of not less that KD 450 which should reflect in your work permit. As far as family visa is concerned, the allowance you earn monthly in addition to your salary is of no consequence.

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  • 3 years mandatory service for sponsor who brought you to Kuwait applicable to all

    I came to Kuwait 9 months before as Technician on Visa 18. I am having Bachelor’s Degree. I would like to know if my visa can be transferred upon completion of 1 year in current company if my current sponsor is ready to release me. I heard from a Representative that “if visa issued from Mubarak Al Kabeer Governate then can only be transferred upon completion of 3 years with current employer”. Is there any such rule? I am little worried, your advice and comment will be highly appreciated. Please reply.

    Name withheld

    Answer: The 3-year mandatory service for the sponsor who brought you to Kuwait is applicable to all irrespective of whether one is a university degree holder or not: However, if after working one year for your sponsor and he has no objection to giving you a release, nothing can stop him from doing that.

     

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  • Driving license for a diploma holder from a university

    I have an inquiry regarding the driving licence. My current salary is KD 650 and my designation is a supervisor. I hold a technical diploma from a university and I have completed 2 years in Kuwait. Can I get a driving licence?

    Name withheld

    Answer: There are three basic conditions you must meet before you can apply for a Kuwaiti driving licence. These are: a monthly salary of not less than KD 600, at least two-years stay in Kuwait since your first entry and last but least, a university degree holder. While you meet the first two conditions, you fall short of third condition which states unambiguously that you must have a university degree.

    In your case you were awarded a diploma by a university but this diploma cannot be equated to a degree just because it was awarded by a university.

    In short, your application for a Kuwait driving licence will not see the light of the day since you don’t meet all the three conditions stipulated above.

     

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  • Age limit for daughter and son to avail visa

    What is the age limit for family visa for girl child. My daughter is now 16 years old, but my daughter’s visa application was rejected due to age reason. Kindly confirm age rules for children.

    Name withheld

    Answer: We are surprised that your daughter’s visa application was rejected on grounds of age. To the best of our knowledge girls below 24 years can be sponsored by their fathers on dependent visa.

    For boys the age limit is 21 years. We must point out however that approving a visa request is not automatic and it is exclusively in the hands of the immigration officer to determine approval or rejection.

    Having said this, we must add that if your application is rejected, you have the right to see a more senior officer to present your case to him or her to review the case and who knows you may be lucky to have the rejection of your application reversed.

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  • Validity of marriage on domestic visa (20) in Kuwait

    I would like to know about the validity of the marriage of people holding Article 20 in Kuwait here. If these people are legally married in their home countries with valid documents legalized by the foreign affairs structures of their home countries. What do Kuwait’s laws say about these people?

    Name withheld

    Answer: With valid and attested documentation as put out by you your marriage will be recognized by the laws of Kuwait in as much as these documents from your country are also attested to by your embassy here and the Kuwait Foreign Ministry Annexe in Shuwaikh.

    We must point out that even though your marriage will be recognized, in the event of you having a baby here you will have to send the baby out of Kuwait within six months of the baby’s delivery.

    This is so because under Kuwaiti Law people under Visa 20 are not allowed to sponsor their children on dependent visa.

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  • Transfer of residence for locally hired and hired from abroad

    I am 2 years in my company and I am planning to submit my resignation. Am I eligible to get a release from them if I get a job from another company?

    Name withheld

    Answer: If you were hired locally, you are qualified to get a release from the company. If you are a university degree holder you could have even requested for a release at any point of time. If you are not, on the other hand the law required you to work for them at least for one year before asking for a release. A different ball-game will come into play if you were hired from your home country by your current sponsor. Under this scenario, the law mandates you to work for three years before being eligible to ask for a release.

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