Head of the National Assembly’s interior and defense committee MP Saadoun Hammad said on Sunday that the main purpose of the sweeping amendments to the residency law is to toughen penalties on visa traders. Hammad said that the new draft law, approved by the committee on Thursday, raises jail terms for visa traders to up to five years from three years currently and increases the fine to KD 10,000 from KD 3,000.

The lawmaker added that the penalty is repeated for each case of visa trading and is doubled in case of repetition or in case the convict is a civil servant. Authorities in Kuwait have been cracking down on visa traders who recruit expat laborers to Kuwait against illegal fees and then fail to provide them with jobs. In recent months, the government has referred several cases of suspected visa trading to courts, which have passed various verdicts.

Hammad said that according to the bill, the maximum duration of visit visas for foreigners is three months, and not one year as claimed by some MPs. Visitors must then leave the country unless they manage to obtain a legal residence permit, the lawmaker said.

Hammad stressed that the duration of a normal residency permit is for five years, which can be renewed on expiry, denying reports that such residencies cannot be renewed, forcing expats to leave the country. He said the same applies to residency permits valid for 10 years given to children of Kuwaiti women and owners of real estate.

Hammad said the bill grants for the first time foreign investors with residency permits valid for up to 15 years, and the guidelines and conditions for such visas will be set by the government. The new bill also regulates the residency of domestic helpers and limits its duration with the duration of the work contract, which can be renewed, Hammad said.

He added that domestic helpers are not allowed to change their work without the approval of the sponsor. Domestic helpers are not allowed to stay outside Kuwait for more than four months, otherwise they will lose their residency. According to the draft law, sponsors or employers will bear the cost of deporting expats unless they are illegally employed or given shelter by others, who will then pay the cost./KT