An Investor Will Be Granted 15 Years Of Residence And A Resident Up To 5 Years

Tomorrow, the Parliamentary Interior and Defense Committee will consider the draught law on foreigner residence, as well as the draught law revising Article (8) of Amiri Decree No. 15 of 1959 on Kuwaiti Nationality Law linked to Kuwaiti wives' citizenship.

According to a local Arabic daily, the Ministry of Interior has submitted a memorandum containing several amendments to foreigner residency, including that managers of hotels and furnished residences intended for rent should notify the Ministry of Interior's competent authority about foreigners who stay in their facilities or leave 48 hours before they leave and keep records related to their stay.

Employees who are authorized by a Minister of Interior decision have the power to review records and, if necessary, issue violations and refer violators to the appropriate authorities. The Minister of the Interior will make a decision outlining the procedures to be followed in this case.

According to the text of the amendments, the ministry retains its right to allow a foreigner to obtain normal residence for a period of not more than five years but allows a maximum of ten years residence for children of Kuwaiti women married to foreigners and real estate owners, and the amendments increased the duration of residence for investors to a maximum of fifteen years, which will be determined by the Council of Ministers based on the scope and categories of their investments.

The Ministry of Interior maintained the same rules for granting visiting visas, which are valid for a maximum of three months and must be returned unless the visitor secures a resident permit from the Ministry of Interior.

The Ministry of the Interior, on the other hand, has lifted the criterion that a Kuwaiti woman must meet in order to get a residence permit for her foreign husband and children: none of them must work for a government or non-government business.

In the same vein, the revisions maintained the harsh penalties for trafficking in resident permits by exploiting or facilitating foreign recruitment under an entry visa or residence permit, or renewing it, in exchange for money or a commitment to do so for oneself or others.

The amendments allow the Minister of Interior to set any time limit for a visa trafficker's deportation if he has a residence permit and if he believes it is necessary for the public interest, public security, or public morals, provided that the foreigner has no legitimate source of income and that the decision to deport the foreigner includes his family "unless it is proven that they can support themselves."

With the elimination of the paragraph that states: "If the notification is after the completion of the crime and before the investigation begins and submitting what supports the responsibility of the perpetrators, and he is given a period determined by the Ministry of Interior to transfer his residence to another employer, otherwise he will be deported at the expense of his employer," the amendments allow the court to be exempted from the punishment for trafficking in residences.

The modifications remove the exemption from the law's provisions that were previously granted to captains and crews of ships and planes arriving in Kuwait with sea or air tickets issued by their competent authorities.

According to the memorandum, a foreign visitor to Kuwait may stay for no more than three months and must go when his visa expires unless he obtains a resident permit from the Ministry of Interior.

A foreigner may be granted permission to temporarily remain in Kuwait for a period of up to three months, after which he must leave the nation unless he obtains a temporary residence visa from the Ministry of Interior.

Investors may be given a residence permit for a term of up to fifteen years if the Council of Ministers issues a decision detailing the scope and categories of their investments, as well as the amounts to be invested.

A foreigner resident in Kuwait, with the exception of children of Kuwaiti women, real estate owners, and anybody who got a residence in his role as an investor, is not permitted to leave the country for more than six months unless the Ministry of the Interior approves otherwise.

The memorandum includes the following adjustments concerning domestic labor: Domestic workers and others may be awarded a regular residency permit under this law's Article (13) if they meet certain criteria.

If the Council of Ministers issues a decision defining the scope and categories of their investments, as well as the amounts to be invested, investors may be granted a residence permit for up to fifteen years.

With the exception of children of Kuwaiti women, real estate owners, and anybody who obtained residency in his capacity as an investor, a foreigner resident in Kuwait is not permitted to leave the nation for more than six months unless the Ministry of the Interior approves differently.

The following changes to domestic labor are included in the memorandum: If domestic workers and others meet specified qualifications, they may be granted a regular residency permit under Article (13) of this law.

On the request of the entity in which he will work, an employee of a governmental or non-governmental entity must get a standard residence permit, provided that he has a valid passport.

If an employee's or worker's residency time has passed and he has not received authorization to renew it or a new residence permit from another body, he must depart Kuwait within six months of his service's expiration date, as defined by the Ministry of the Interior.

A government employee may not be awarded a residence permit at another government entity without the consent of the authority where he worked, and a non-governmental employee may not be granted a residence permit without the approval of the responsible body.

Within two weeks of the termination or quitting, the governmental or non-governmental body, as the case may be, shall notify the competent authorities of the employee's or worker's service ending or leaving him to work.

Foreign applicants must also notify the appropriate authority at the Ministry of Interior when their entry visa or temporary or regular residence expires if they do not leave Kuwait, according to the memo.

All fees related to residency and renewal, as well as all types of entry visas, are determined and modified by a Minister of Interior decision, and children of Kuwaiti women who have obtained residency permits are exempt from these fees in accordance with the provisions of Article (10 paragraph 1) of this law, as well as any other provisions of this law.

Working for others is forbidden for a foreigner who does not meet the conditions of his residency in Kuwait.

Without a license from the relevant government, it is illegal for the employer or the foreign recruiter to employ him for a purpose other than his recruitment, or to enable or facilitate his work for others.

It is illegal for a third party to harbor or use a foreigner, regardless of whether his visa is valid or expired, and it is also illegal for him to accommodate him if he does not have a valid visa.

The Minister of Interior may issue a decision to remove any foreigner within a specific period, even if he has a residency permit, in the following conditions, according to the chapter on deportation and expulsion of foreigners: He has a legal source of income, and the decision to deport the foreigner may include members of his family, foreigners who are responsible for their support, and the foreigner who is issued a deportation order may be detained for a period of time.

If a foreigner does not have a residence permit or if the permission period has ended, he may be expelled from Kuwait by a decision of the Minister of Interior, and he may return if he meets the prerequisites for entrance in line with the terms of entry into effect.

The Minister of Interior has the authority to exempt a foreigner who has been expelled from Kuwait from all fines incurred as a result of violating the terms of this legislation if he leaves Kuwait.

Without the consent of the Minister of Interior, a foreigner who has already been expelled from Kuwait may not return.

The memorandum stated in the chapter on penalties, "Whoever violates the law shall be punished by a fine of not less than six hundred dinars and not more than two thousand dinars, and by imprisonment for not more than three months and a fine of not more than four hundred dinars or more than four hundred dinars." Anyone who breaches any of the provisions of Article 9 (paragraph 2) (11) faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of not less than 600 dinars and not more than 1,200 dinars, or a combination of these two penalties.

Anyone who gets an entry visa or a residence permit in exchange for money, a benefit, or a promise to do so will be sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of one thousand dinars, or to one of these two penalties.

Anyone among the perpetrators who begins to notify the relevant authorities of the existence of an agreement to commit the crime of trafficking in residence as defined in Article (18) of this legislation before the crime has been accomplished by the court is immune from penalty.

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