KUWAIT CITY:
Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis in Kuwait, the demographic imbalance in the country is being reviewed firmly and decisively, prompting the government to revive plans to reduce the number of expatriates within five years, reports Al-Rai daily quoting informed sources.
They indicated that the government is obtaining most of the relevant details from extensive studies conducted in the past to address the imbalance in the population composition, and work is ongoing to review it and take advantage of the applicable provisions.
The sources said, “There are basic pillars on which the reform formula plan depends to ensure Kuwaitis constitute 50 percent of the population within five years. This will be accomplished by reducing the number of expatriates to 1.5 million from the current number of about 3.3 million, and setting controls to limit the number of marginal workers (non-technical workers). This is possible through the adoption of a quota system in determining community shares, and assigning the demography file to only Ministry of Social Affairs”.
They went on to say, “The quota system will limit the increase in the numbers of certain communities, the negative effects of which had emerged during the coronavirus crisis. Therefore, each community will be granted a proportion that corresponds to their numbers, provided the highest percentage does not exceed 20 percent of the number of expatriates (i.e. about 300,000). It will involve activation of judicial arrest authority for Ministry of Social Affairs, especially against fake companies in order to control workers without authorization”.
The sources added, “The plan includes non-renewal of residency for expatriates over the age of 60, except for those in certain occupations. It also includes specifying the number of years of expatriate residency in Kuwait, making sure it does not exceed 15 years.”
They emphasized that the plan organized the recruitment of domestic workers, so residency is granted only based on the needs and number of each family in order to reduce the number of domestic workers who constitute a large proportion of the expatriates in Kuwait”.