Undocumented OFWs in Kuwait should apply for repatriation — DFA

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is urging the remaining undocumented Filipinos in Kuwait who want to go home to apply for the government’s repatriation program that will end on April 22.

The DFA issued the deadline after the Philippine embassy reported a drop in the number of undocumented Filipino workers registering for repatriation after Kuwait announced a two-month extension of its amnesty program.

“Our kababayans in Kuwait must realize that we cannot do things overnight and they should not wait until the last minute before they sign up for repatriation,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said.

Arriola said a total of 3,668 Filipinos have been flown home since Feb. 11 when the embassy started repatriating undocumented workers who availed themselves of Kuwait’s amnesty program.

She said more than 6,000 undocumented workers still have not signed up for repatriation.

Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Villa also appealed to undocumented workers to register as soon as possible so they could immediately be flown home.

“It takes at least 10 days to process the documents of our kababayans and get the necessary clearances from Kuwaiti authorities before we can put them on the plane to Manila,” Villa said.

Since Kuwait announced the extension of amnesty for overstaying foreign workers to April 22, Villa said the number of Filipinos registering with the embassy has gone down.

“Filipinos always want to do things at the last minute but in this case, we cannot be expected to handle a deluge of applications, especially during the last few days of the amnesty period,” he said.

“We are appealing to our kababayans to go to the embassy as soon as possible and get themselves registered,” Villa said.