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Kuwait’s New Visa Rules: Domestic Workers Can Move to Private Sector | Personal Finance

Posted on by darion

From July 14, domestic workers will be able to transfer their visas under certain conditions

Kuwait
Photo: Shutterstock

Surbhi Gloria Singh New Delhi

The Kuwaiti government has introduced new visa regulations that allow expatriates working in domestic sectors to transfer their visas to the private sector. The change, announced by the Office of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Interior Sheikh Fahad Al Yousuf Al Sabah, aims to facilitate labor mobility while adhering to the country’s legal framework.

Since July 14, domestic workers have been allowed to transfer their visas under certain conditions. The move is likely to benefit Indian workers in the Gulf country.

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Visa Transfer Conditions

Visa transfer conditions include:

– Have the consent of your current employer

– Have a minimum period of residence with the current employer of one year

– Paying a transfer fee of 50 dinars (approximately 13,640 rupees)

– A fee of 10 dinars (approx. 2,728 rupees) charged for each year of service with the current employer

Three-month amnesty period

The announcement follows a three-month amnesty period that ended in June, during which expatriates who were illegally in Kuwait could regularize their status. Options included paying fines, obtaining new residence or leaving the country without fines.

Dealing with illegal housing construction

Kuwait has recently stepped up its efforts to crack down on illegal housing. The crackdown was sparked by the tragic fire that killed 43 Indians due to an electrical fault on June 12. The dead included 23 from Kerala, seven from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh and one each from Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Punjab and West Bengal.

Authorities evicted several foreign nationals, especially bachelors living abroad, from Bnied Al-Gar, where the fire broke out.

Hindus in Kuwait

Kuwait has a population of almost 4.2 million, of which 21% (1 million) are Hindus. Hindus make up 30% of Kuwait’s workforce. According to the latest statistics released by the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) of Kuwait, the population of Kuwait was 4.859 million (1.546 million citizens and 3.3 million expatriates) as of December 2023.

According to the Indian embassy in Kuwait, Indian workers dominate both the private and domestic sectors. Most Indian professionals work as engineers, doctors, auditors, scientists, software experts, management consultants and architects. Technicians and nurses, retail salespeople and businessmen also make up a significant portion of the workforce, although a large portion are unskilled and semi-skilled workers.