Kuwait: Over 200,000 expats lose residency permits in one year

Kuwait: Over 200,000 expats lose residency permits in one year
March 24, 2021, 11:34 am

Residents walk on a waterfront promenade in Kuwait City on March 23, 2021, as authorities allowed people to exercise for two hours amid a nationwide curfew due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (File photo: AFP)

Stranded abroad and unable to return to Kuwait due to the coronavirus pandemic, over 200,000 Kuwait-based expatriates lost their residencies in one year, Times Kuwait reported on Monday.

The expats came from 20 different countries, and the worst-hit nationalities were those from Egypt, India and Sri Lanka, a source told Kuwait daily media Al Qabas.

At the beginning of the outbreak, the country’s government temporarily suspended a decision stating that an expat resident’s visa would be automatically canceled after six months of being outside the country, regardless of its validity.

This meant that any expat or resident of Kuwait abroad at the time of the outbreak could rest assured that their visas were valid and safe. Many expats were finding it difficult to return to the country due to pandemic-induced travel restrictions.

Although the decision was suspended, it still meant that any expat outside Kuwait looking to renew their residency needed to do so before the expiry date on their visa.