legal clinic
Sponsorship
My husband is working as a nurse in industrial area and his basic salary is KD 450. According to new rule is he eligible to apply for a family visa?
In case if he is not eligible for family visa, if I come to Kuwait on a work visa and our combined basic salary is above KD 650. Can we sponsor our child?
Name withheld
Answer: Under the new rule, an expatriate worker should earn a monthly salary of KD 500 to be in position to sponsor his family on dependent visa. This not withstanding, workers belonging to certain professions are exempted from meeting this salary requirement. Those exempted include consultants, jurists, prosecutors, experts, legal researchers in the public sector, doctor, lecturers in higher education institutions, school principals and assistants, education guides and teachers, social counselors, laboratory technicians, economic and finance advisors, engineers, imams, muezzins and those who teach the Holy Qur’an, librarians, nursing staffs, paramedics, medical technicians with various specializations, journalists, coaches and players in sports club’s, pilots and service crew and undertakers.
Zeroing in on your specific question, you can see that nurses are among the list of workers exempted from meeting the minimum salary requirement. He must however point out that in some of the exemptions, there is discrimination between those in the public sector and their counterparts in the private sector so we can’t say for certainty that your husband can sponsor you on family especially if he is not working with the public sector. On the issue of you and your husband combining your salaries to satisfy the minimum salary requirement, we are sorry to say that is not possible as the practice, which was allowed some years ago, has since been discontinued and hence sponsoring your child on your husband’s monthly of KD 450 cannot materialize unless he gets an exemption from the concerned authority.
Hiring a maid
I am an Indian national working in Kuwait for the past 7 years. I am planning to bring a maid from my country India. I heard that we cannot hire same nationality, is it true? If not what is the procedures to apply for a visa in my own sponsorship. My wife is also working and our total salary will be around KD 1,250.
Please advise the procedures accordingly. Name withheld Answer: Under the laws of Kuwait, foreigners, with the exception of some Arabs, cannot hire the services of domestic workers except with the expressed approval of the Ministry of Interior. The proceeding not withstanding such approvals are made with the proviso that the expatriate whose application has been approved, can only hire a maid of a different nationality as he sponsor.
The following are the procedures involved in applying to sponsor a maid after receiving the go-ahead from the Ministry of the Interior. Documents needed 1. Salary certificates of you and your wife (if the latter is working)
2. Photocopy of the house rented agreement
3. Photocopy of your passport and wife’s
4. Proof of ages of children (photocopy of local birth certificates or passport)
5. Photocopy of you Civil ID and wife’s
6. Photocopy of the maid’s passport plus eight passport sized photos
7. Photocopy of the maid’s work contract (salary, weekly off, period of work and air ticket are a must to mention)
When you obtain the visa from the Immigration Department, you need to send it to the maid for further formalities to be done in the country of origin.
The maid has to go to the Kuwait Embassy in her country where she will be told where to go and do her medicals.
A plane ticket will be sent to the maid after she successfully goes through the medicals for her onward journey to Kuwait when she will again go through further formalities before getting her residence permit stamped in her passport after which she will finally apply for a Civil ID card and become a legal resident in Kuwait.
Visa transfer
I was working as a nurse in a clinic, i resigned, last day was Sept 30, 2019. I will transfer my visa to family. Now Oct 3, my employer informed me that i need to transfer residency till next week, if not they will file a case against me in sho’on. Is it possible? How come I am only given one week. I just completed our requirements for family visa, will start processing on Sunday but I don’t think a week is enough to finish. Please advice, need your help. Thanks.
Name withheld
Answer: So far as you have begun the processes that will lead to the transfer to your work visa to a dependent visa, we advise you to continue the processes and ignore the threats of your employer, who is enjoined by law to give you reasonable time to effect the transfer. By no stretch of imagination can one week be said to be reasonable time within which to transfer your residency. In the event that your employer carries out his threat to report you to sho’on just make sure that you arm yourself with all the documents to show that you are in the process of transferring your visa 18 to visa 22 (family). This will be enough to expose the absconding lie being bandied before you.
Autistic daughter
Firstly I would like to thank you for the excellent service you are running, I find it one of the most useful pages from newspapers. My question: I’m an expat living in Kuwait and I have a daughter who is autistic. We are struggling with her school admission and I wanted to know, from a legal point of view, do autistic kids have a right to be educated in the same schools as ‘normal’ kids? Or are their special schools only?
Name withheld
Answer: The general principle is that every child has fundamental right to be educated. Building on this principle is the realization that all students have the ability to learn and will learn irrespective of their disability. Whereas we cannot cite amy law that prohibits autistic kids from being educated in normal schools, we are of the opinion that children suffering from autism will have their interests better served when they are admitted in schools that are specialised in dealing with children with special needs. In such schools, children can be imparted with professional expertise therapy and education, so they are able to unfold their potentials and be active members of their communities.
Visit visa
My wife came here to Kuwait on family visit visa (3 months validity) on June 16, 2019 and left Kuwait on Sept 7, 2019. After how many days/months will family visit visa be issued for her if she wants to visit Kuwait? Name withheld Answer: Under the rules governing family visit visa, when one visits Kuwait, one can only come back on another visit visa after the elapse of six months. In your case your wife can be eligible for another visit from March 8, 2020, onwards.
Termination
I have a concern about my current situation here in my work. They terminated me without any reason and as far as I remember I don’t have any issue or violations from their rules and regulations and I have been working with them for almost a year with a 2 years contract when they suddenly terminated me.
My previous company told me that they would give me a release and my visa was transferable and the indemnity I will receive is only 30 days vacation leave only.
Here’s the thing: When I applied to join a different company the recruiter said that my visa is not yet transferable because it’s new.
By the way, I came to Kuwait last November 2018 but I had my civil ID in June 2019 and that will expire by June 2020. They issued it to me very late. I’ve been working with them since November 2018 to June 2019 without a civil ID and Baladiya. It means, I’ve been carrying my Civil ID for about 3 months now from the date issued.
How can I apply for a job in a different company if I have an issue with a visa ?
Can they really terminate me without any reason? Even if I have a 2 years contract with them?
Why my back pay is only for 30 days vacation leave only?
I’m having a hard time applying for a job in a different company due to this issue. Hope you can help me. Thank you!
Name withheld
Answer: You have been put into this mess by the company which hired and fired you so let them deal with the mess that they themselves have created. In this regard they have to keep you under their sponsorship to such time that it will be possible for you to do the transfer to another company. As for being fired without assigning any reason, it is within the company’s right to do so and in a similar vein, the law enjoins them to make sure that your rights are not violated. This means that the company must give you reasonable time within which to transfer your residence as well as pay you all that is due to you. Since you have worked with them for one year, you are entitled to two weeks salary as end of service payment in addition to 30 days salary in lieu of the leave that you did take. If the company try’s to prove recalcitrant we advise that you file a case against them at the Public Authority for Manpower to seek redress.
The Arab Times invites questions on all aspects of Kuwaiti law. If you face a problem, or need specific advice on any legal matter, from commercial and investment law to divorce and labour, send questions to the Managing Editor, Arab Times, P.O. Box 2270, 13023 Safat, Kuwait, or Fax to 24818267. E-mail: arabtimes@arabtimesonline.com