Kuwaiti MP proposes move to stop issuing residency permits for expats aged over 60

Kuwaiti MP Safa Al Hashem has submitted a proposal to the government this week calling for the country to stop issuing residency permits to expats aged 60 and above.

The proposal also seeks to deport “all expats undergoing treatment at psychiatric hospitals”, local daily Kuwait Times reported.

It also urges the government to issue a decision banning expats from working in two jobs, calling for deporting those found to violating the rule.

Al Hashem said her proposal was part of efforts to “amend” Kuwait’s population structure. Expats account for nearly 3.4 million of Kuwait’s 4.8 million population.

The proposal also calls for the establishment of a government committee to resolve problems associated with the imbalance in the population composition.

Last month, Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah said that the Gulf state would like expat numbers to reduce to 30 per cent of the country’s population.

That would require cutting down the number of foreign workers by around 2.5 million.

Read: Kuwait doesn’t want to be an expat-majority nation anymore

Earlier this month, a draft law calling for an expatriate quota system in Kuwait was approved by the National Assembly’s legal and legislative committee.

According to the bill, Indians – who form the largest foreign community in Kuwait – must not exceed 15 per cent of the national population – which currently stands at 1.45 million. If approved, the law would require some 800,000 Indians to leave the country, according to reports.

Read: Kuwait’s National Assembly approves expat quota bill – report

Al Hashem, who has been vocal in her demands for reducing the number of expatriates in the country, urged Kuwait last year to expel close to two million foreign workers.

She said that it was essential to have Kuwaitis number more than 50 per cent of the country’s population.

The MP has also drawn controversy in the past after asking that expats be charged “for the air they breathe” and submitting proposals such as a $3,300 fee for foreign workers to obtain driving licences and a 10-year limit on their stay in the country.

Read: Kuwait MP proposes $3,300 fee for expat driving licences

Kuwait MP calls for 10-year limit for foreign workers