Real estate owners decry restriction in visit visa issuance – Authorities urged to facilitate issuance of visas to expats
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KUWAIT CITY, Aug 19: A number of real-estate owners, contractors and owners of readymade textile shops expressed frustration over the restriction in issuance of visit visas of all kinds to Kuwait, which is in turn affecting the local market.
Mohammad Al-Azmi, a real-estate manager, said the restriction in issuing visit visas to Kuwait has been negatively affecting the market especially the hotel industry. He lamented about the current miserable condition of the real-estate sector in the country.
Munir Al-Hussaini, who is the manager of a readymade textile shop, stressed that the market is facing depression due to the strictness of the concerned authorities in issuing family visit visas and tourist visas. He explained that owners of readymade textile shops are suffering from losses as the number of customers especially tourists have reduced due to the restrictions in issuance of visit visas. Many of the stores have been closed and converted into cafés.
Al-Hussaini urged the concerned governmental authorities to facilitate the issuance of visit visas to expatriates before the current situation of the market worsens and more stores end up being closed in the future.
Head of Union for Kuwaiti Contracting Companies Dr Saleh Buresli said the strictness in issuing commercial visas is badly affecting owners of companies because such visas usually enable employers to bring engineers and other skilled workers to Kuwait, test their abilities and decide whether to hire them or not. He indicated that Kuwait is in need of more expatriates especially in certain sectors, stressing that the companies of these sectors struggle to obtain commercial visas.
Ahmadi Ramzi, who is in charge of a food commodity store, said the country’s food industry is in a bad state currently because large number of citizens and expatriates have travelled overseas at the start of the summer.
He explained that many people used to visit Kuwait during the summer season on visit visas especially family visit visas and they used to contribute to the success of the local market during this season. However, the recent statements to limit issuance of visit visas will lead to further depression in the market.
By Najeh Bilal Al-Seyassah Staff
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