Kuwait deports 610 expats in 5 days for violating laws

Kuwait International Airport in Farwaniya Governorate

Kuwait has said it deported 610 expatriates found guilty of violating its residency and labour laws as the country is pressing ahead with an inexorable security clampdown on illegal foreigners.

The Interior Ministry said inspection campaigns carried out by the General Administration of Residency Affairs Investigations from December 1resulted in the arrest of 317 violators of the residency and labour laws against whom the necessary measures are being taken

During the same period, 610 other violators were deported from the country.

The ministry vowed to intensify its security campaigns across the country and to arrest anyone who violates the residency and labour rules. Accountability targets the worker and the employer alike, the ministry warned.

Kuwait, a country of an overall population of 4.9 million people mostly foreigners, is seeking to redress its demographic imbalance and regulate the labour market.

Authorities there have recently mounted a nationwide crackdown on illegal foreign residents, who failed to take advantage of a three-month grace period to rectify their status.

The amnesty, which commenced in March, allowed illegal expatriates to readjust their residency status or leave willingly the country without paying fines. The deadline ended on June 30.

During the grace period, irregular expatriates, who had no passports, were able to leave Kuwait without having to pay a fine and are allowed to re-enter the country.

The unlawful resident with no travel document was also allowed to get a new one and use it for departure.

The deported violators are banned from re-entering Kuwait for life and other GCC countries for five years, according to media reports.