Kuwait: At least 100,000 expatriate workers will permanently leave Kuwait by the end of 2020, according to a report by Al-Qabas newspaper, after security sources found workers registered in fake companies which they do not work for.
Security sources have intensified campaigns over the past months to tackle the issue of “residency trade”, leading to the filing of 300 cases and 450 companies being referred for investigation.
Kuwait revealed last month that around 40,000 of its expatriates stranded outside the country due to coronavirus measures and unable to renew residency permits would not be allowed to return without a valid visa.
In May, Kuwaiti MPs proposed a law to address the country’s demographic imbalance between foreign expatriates and Kuwaiti nationals, which on approval could lead to hundreds of thousands of foreigners being laid off and replaced with locals.
Around 92,000 expats including illegal migrants left Kuwait between April to June, according to one official and
The government announced an amnesty in April to offer illegal migrants exemption from punishment in return for free flights home.
Foreigners account for nearly 3.4 million of Kuwait’s 4.8 million population.