Embassy restrictions on bedoun Hajj and Umrah

Under 30 cannot apply for visa: MoI

KUWAIT CITY, July 23: Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed the Central System for Remedying Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) that the Saudi Embassy in Kuwait revealed that Hajj and Umrah visas for Bedoun residents will be issued only on presentation of proof of their original nationality, reports Aljarida daily quoting parliamentary sources.

They explained that the embassy has informed the ministry about three regulations for granting visas to holders of Article 17 passports. They must fill a form with their personal data and fingerprints authenticated by Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry must guarantee their return to Kuwait as they cannot stay in Saudi Arabia for any other reason. In addition, a proof of their original nationality must be attached.

The sources indicated that Ministry of Foreign Affairs has addressed the embassy with a letter containing a request for exemption from the condition of proving the original nationality for this category, so that the Bedoun residents are not deprived of opportunities to perform Hajj and Umrah rituals especially since many of them do not have an original nationality.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Interior has decided to stop accepting applications from Kuwaiti citizens under the age of 30 years for Bangladeshi domestic workers, reports Al-Anba daily.

The concerned authorities in the ministry issued a circular to pull out the names of citizens who are under 30 years of age who had applied for domestic visas to bring Bangladeshi expatriates to Kuwait.

Assistant Undersecretary for Citizenship and Travel Documents at Ministry of Interior Major General Mazen Al-Jarrah has called for thorough search and inspection of trucks arriving in Kuwait due to repeated cases of infiltrations into the country, reports Al-Shahed daily.

He officially addressed Assistant Undersecretary for Ports Security Affairs, revealing that securitymen arrested two Pakistani infiltrators who explained during investigations that they had reached an agreement with an Egyptian truck driver to help them enter Kuwait from Saudi Arabia for which he charged them KD 400. They hid in the truck, which crossed the Kuwaiti borders, and then took a taxi to Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh where they stayed for a year before they were arrested.

Major General Al-Jarrah stressed the need to inspect the trucks coming into Kuwait and ensure they are free of infiltrators.