Ma’arafi says expats should not fear fees hike, calling them logical

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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 7: Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Khalid Al-Jarrah has approved the executive regulations of the Foreigners’ Residence Law and referred it to the Fatwa and Legislation Department to prepare the legal text before issuing a ministerial decree, reports Al-Rai daily.

In the same context, Director-General of the General Department of Residence Affairs Talal Ma’arafi said expatriates should not fear any increase in fees calling them logical and consistent with circumstances and economic conditions around the world.

Ma’arafi said the regulations include several amendments in order to increase the number of visitors to the country. The amendments include granting multiple visits to businessmen to facilitate the entry and exit process, to encourage capital and economic movement in the country, so that visitors can frequently visit the country at intervals according to the validity of the visa that is granted to them.

Ma’arafi pointed out the maximum validity of visa granted to businessmen is one year, so that the businessman can enter and exit Kuwait multiple times during the validity of the visa.

Ma’arafi added the amendments include granting entry visas to students from other countries who wish to complete their studies in private universities in Kuwait according to applied mechanism to encourage attracting students from other countries and to encourage the national economy.

He added graduates of Kuwaiti universities have the right to work in the private sector because they have become familiar with the Kuwaiti society and its customs and traditions during their education period.

Agreement
He pointed out that entry visas shall be granted for patients wishing to receive treatment in private hospitals upon an agreed mechanism to allow them to enter according to agreement with private hospitals, saying the duration of treatment will be open until the patient’s recovery.

Meanwhile, Personnel from the General Department for Citizenship and Travel Documents have arrested a GCC citizen for obtaining the Kuwaiti citizenship through fraud, reports Al-Rai daily quoting a knowledgeable source.

The same source said the suspect took advantage of the death of a Kuwaiti during the invasion of Kuwait, the Kuwaiti who had no family. He was buried in the desert and as a result of this his death was not registered.

The source added the suspect then used the name of the deceased and claimed he lost his citizenship document and managed to get a duplicate with his picture. He later submitted a false marriage contract in preparation to add non-Kuwaitis to his file and went on to add 11 people — GCC citizens and Syrians.

In other words he sold the Kuwaiti citizenship to 11 people by adding them to his file and made a lot of money.

The source added one of them, a Syrian, was sent to Germany at government expense in 2015 and was extradited by Interpol after police discovered his fake parents.

The source added the Syrian worked for the Defense Ministry for 10 years, managed to take a bank loan worth KD 30,000 and handed over the money to the fake father who shared it with the Syrian.

The source said the Syrian was found in possession of his original documents and knows nothing about the Kuwaiti dialect.

The GCC man and the Syrian have been referred to the concerned authorities while the names of others have been added to the list of persons wanted by law. They are believed to be out of the country and will be arrested upon arrival.

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