Kuwait overhauls rules: Temporary residency can be extended for a year

Cairo: Kuwait has drastically revamped its residency rules, setting a foreigner’s temporary stay at three months with possible extension for a period not exceeding one year.

Regular residency can be granted for up to five years, 10 years for children of Kuwaiti women and property owners, and 15 years for investors, according to a new law.

Violating the temporary or regular residency or iqama rules is punishable by one year imprisonment and a fine of up to KD 1,200 ($3,900). Violating the visit residency rules is punishable by one year in prison and a maximum fine of KD2,000 dinars.

A draft of the new law incorporates tough penalties against illegal trade in residency permits to up to five years in prison and fines of KD10,000. The penalty is doubled if the offender is a state employee whose offence is committed while working within the scope of his/her job duties.
Domestic workers
The domestic worker is not allowed to stay outside Kuwait for more than four months unless he/she obtains permission to do so before the expiry of this period from the Interior Ministry. If not, his/her right to residency will be revoked.

Illegal entry into Kuwait is penalised by three years in prison and a fine of KD3,000.

Employing a foreigner for others, or not paying his/her dues is punishable by a fine of KD10,000 and two years in prison.Managers of hotels and furnished apartments are, meanwhile, required to notify the Interior Ministry of foreign guests’ stay and departure within 24 hours.

Expatriate residents must show their passports or equivalent documents upon request and report any loss or damage of them within two weeks to the Interior Ministry. Failure to meet the notification deadlines is punishable by KD2,000.

A related draft law was approved by the Kuwaiti government earlier this month. It is not clear yet when Emir Meshal Al Ahmad will sign it into a law to become effective. In May, the Emir dissolved the legislature and suspended some articles of the constitution for four years at most.In recent months, Kuwait has pursued a relentless crackdown on trafficking in iqamas as the country has rounded up thousands of unlawful expat workers.