Kuwait declares amnesty for residency violators

Saturday, 27 January 2018 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Ministry of Interior of Kuwait, on Tuesday (23) declared an amnesty period from 29 January to 22 February for expatriates who do not possess residency permits or those with expired residency permits, to rectify their status or leave the country.

The amnesty allows illegal residents to leave the country during the above mentioned period through any port without paying penalties; or to legalise their status and continue residing in Kuwait after paying all fines and obtaining a valid visa without being referred to the investigation department. Those who leave the country during this amnesty will be allowed to enter Kuwait again if they meet the regular conditions of entry and if they were not banned from entry for another reason.

However, residency violators who are banned from travelling or subjected to court cases should visit the Residency Affairs Department to discuss the possibility of getting a valid visa during the amnesty period, the decree stated.

If an illegal resident is caught during the amnesty period, he or she will be deported immediately. Residency violators who don’t leave the country during the amnesty period would have to, not only face legal penalties, but also denial of valid visa, deportation and denial of re-entry into Kuwait.

During the amnesty period in 2011, 739 Sri Lankans had rectified their residency status and 2,862 Sri Lankans left Kuwait having availed of the amnesty.

This is a rare opportunity for about 15,447 Sri Lankans who live illegally in Kuwait to resolve their residency issues or leave the country without being blacklisted.

Therefore, the Sri Lanka Embassy in Kuwait requests the relatives of the Sri Lankans who live in Kuwait without legal residency permits, to inform them to rectify residency status or return to Sri Lanka under the amnesty granted.

For further inquiries in this regard the Embassy could be contacted via its hot line: 00 965 65000118.