Legal Clinic

Dear sir/madam, I would like to ask regarding a man sponsoring his wife. When the rule for the salary cap of KD 450 increase came into force, it was mentioned that certain professions like nurse, engineer etc are exempted. However, I read your column and have found that certain professions like nurse, you say they cannot sponsor if they don’t meet the 450 salary cap?

Please clarify. Thank you

Name withheld

Answer: To be able to sponsor members of the immediate family, the man must be earning KD 450 or above and this amount must be clearly stated on the work permit to the best of our knowledge, the KD 450 salary cap is applicable to all without any exemptions. We suspect that you are confusing the exemptions made for some applicants in certain professions to apply for driving licence if they do not meet the salary ceiling of KD 600.

Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

Repeated queries wont be entertained, kindly go through our archives.

With regards to the above, I would like to know whether it is possible to transfer to a new employer under following circumstances.

The person have been working in Kuwait for more than 4-5 years and have been locally transferred and worked with 2-3 companies before.

Right now he is working with a company and recently his visa transfer formalities had been completed and he got an offer from a new company.

I would like to know if it is possible for him to transfer to a new sponsor even though he hasn’t completed 1 year with the current sponsor.

Hope to have a feedback from you.

Name withheld

Answer: If your friend holds a university degree he can transfer to another company without completing one year service with his current company. He can also transfer to the new company if his current company does not object to it in case he is not a graduate. However, if he has no university degree and the current company insists on holding on to him, then he has no choice but to complete the one year service.

Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

Repeated queries wont be entertained, kindly go through our archives.

I was in Kuwait and hold driving licence valid till 2024. I left Kuwait and will come back to join a new company. Now I have recently renewed my passport from India and new visa will be processed based on new passport. Will I get same civil ID number, so that I can continue using my driving licence. If I get a new civil ID number, what is procedure to get the old civil ID number, so that I can utilize my driving licence.

Name withheld

Answer: Yes, you will get the same civil ID number but unfortunately you cannot continue to use your driving licence. The fact you are coming back to Kuwait to join a new company means that both your residence and work permits of your old company were cancelled before you left Kuwait. The cancellation of your residence permit meant automatic cancellation of your driving licence. If you are lucky you may be allowed to renew your old licence when you come back or failing that you will have to apply all over again for a new driving licence after meeting all the requirements.

Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected]

Repeated queries wont be entertained, kindly go through our archives.

Are there any visa (Kuwait) restrictions on Pakistani nationals, specially for professional engineers?

Name withheld

Answer: Yes, for some time now there have been visa restrictions on Pakistani nationals regardless of their job description or type of visa.

Under these restrictions, visa applicants are required to go through the security authorities for clearance and it is very rare, though not completely ruled out for Pakistanis to get this security clearance.

In short, this is the current situation with regard to visa applications as pertaining to Pakistani nationals

Dear Sir, I seek your advice concerning the requirements needed nowadays to renew driving licences. I am working for a private company since 1994 as an Accountant (Accounts Manager) with basic salary of KD 650.

This profession and salary are mentioned in my work permit. May I know what other documents I need to submit for the renewal of my licence besides the copies of work permit and civil ID? My present licence is expiring in July, 2017. Can I apply for its renewal one month in advance?

Name withheld

Answer: In addition you will need a stamp from your company with authorized signatory on the renewal form, you also need to submit one passport-size photo and the expired driving licence. When you have all these ready you visit the concerned General Traffic Department and submit them together with a filled service application form and pay the required fees due.

Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected], repetitive questions wont be entertained. Kindly go through our archives

I am working for an exchange firm … outsourced from an HR company past five and half years. I resigned from there. I am getting KD 579 as last salary. 21 days leave days are balance. How much indemnity I have the right to get?

Name withheld

Answer: Your indemnity will be calculated on your last remuneration which is KD 579.

The calculation will be done as follows.

Service: 5.5 yrs

Salary: KD 579

For the first 5 years you get 15 days salary for each year = 75 days but these days have to be divided by 26 (working days in a month) = 2.88 months salary.

For the next 0.5 years you get half a month’s salary = 0.5

Total indemnity = 2.88 + 0.5 = 3.38

Salary = 3.38 x KD 579 = KD 1,957.02

But as you are resigning with over 5 years service but less than 10 years, you are entitled to two-thirds of this total = KD 1,304.68.

For the balance of 21 days annual leave you have to divide this by 26 (working days in a month) = 21 divided by 26 = 0.807 month salary = 0.8076 x KD 579 = KD 467.600.

So your total settlement will be KD 1,304.68 + 467.600 = KD 1,772.280.

Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected], repetitive questions wont be entertained. Kindly go through our archives

Dear Sir, can I get visit visa for my brother-in-law (wife’s brother) and his wife for a short visit in Kuwait? Kindly advise.

Name withheld

Answer: Yes, you can if you earn a monthly salary of KD 300 or above. It is worth adding that in a bid to curtail the phenomenon of begging, issuance of visit visas during the Holy Month of Ramadan becomes stricter

Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected], repetitive questions wont be entertained. Kindly go through our archives

I got a driving licence in 1996. My licence expired on April 6, 2017. Now I am on a new visa (18) and the profession mentioned is ‘Labourer’. My old profession was Spare Parts Incharge. I just arrived one month ago on the new visa. I heard that under new Kuwait Law a change in the profession in residency, cannot renew licence. So please advise if I can renew the licence or not. Thanking you and waiting for your reply.

Name withheld

Answer: The fact that you arrived in Kuwait one month ago on new visa means that your old work visa and residence permit were cancelled before you left Kuwait. Since the validity of the driving licence is tied to the validity of the residence permit, the cancellation of the residence permit means the driving licence is automatically cancelled. You therefore cannot renew your old driving licence. If you need a driving licence you have to apply all over again but before doing that make sure that you meet the requirements to be granted a driving licence. The rule on change of profession vis-avis driving licence renewal affects only driver, housewife, mandoub and student.

Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected], repetitive questions wont be entertained. Kindly go through our archives

I am working as an engineer for a company for the past seven years in Kuwait. My visa is company visa only. Now I got an opening with very good salary in another company. My company is not accepting my resignation. My passport is with the company. I don’t know what to do next. Please guide me to take the next step.

Name withheld
Answer: Your company is wrong in refusing to accept your resignation as this flies in the face of Kuwait Labour Law. If the company brought you to Kuwait from your country of origin, they were legally allowed to keep you, working for them for three years after which you were entitled to ask for a release or resign and go back to your country. On the other hand if you joined them from another company could have left them even before completing one year on condition that you hold a university degree. Having said this, we will still advise that you try again to see if you can talk to them to accept your resignation even if this will mean taking your case to a more senior official in the company. If this attempt fails, then you will have no other alternative than to file a case with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour through the Labour Department in your area.

Kindly send your queries to [email protected] or [email protected], repetitive questions wont be entertained. Kindly go through our archives

Good day.. I need a further assist about this. I’m going to visit my husband by using visit visa and will be back in my hometown before the time limit. But the question is, Is there any period that I need to wait getting another visa? Is it true that I need to wait for about 6 months before my husband can proceed with dependent visa application? Or can my husband straight away proceed with my dependent visa application after I go back. Hope you can help me to clear the things out. Thanks so much.

Name withheld

Answer: You husband can go ahead with the process of applying for a dependent visa without having to wait for six months. Indeed the six-month waiting period is limited to people applying for a second visit visa after the first.