Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Citizenship and Passport Affairs Thabet Al Muhanna announced that the government has decided to grant three-month visit visas to all categories of people, including unskilled laborers. According to Al Muhanna, these visas can later be converted into dependents' visas. He also revealed the lifting of the government ban on the entry into Kuwait of citizens from seven countries, namely, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Moreover, the list of countries eligible for the visa-on-arrival facility was expanded from 34 to 39 and now includes Georgia, Bhutan, Vietnam and two other nations.
The Ministry of Social Affairs is considering a proposal for a new system whereby only one government entity would be responsible for recruiting and sponsoring migrant workers. Findings from the study are contained in a report entitled "The sponsorship system and an analysis in finding a substitute for it." The report said such system would help deter human trafficking and minimize the problems encountered by migrant workers in transferring sponsorship.
Some 150 jobseekers from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other countries have allegedly been duped by two Pakistani nationals who collected KD150-250 from each of them as recruitment fee for jobs that never materialized. However, the two swindlers managed to flee before the victims could take legal action against them. The two men met job applicants in posh hotels and advertised their services through word-of-mouth. Suspicious applicants made inquiries on the company the duo supposedly represented and found no such firm exists.
Sources: "Kuwait to issue 3-month visit visa," Bahrain Tribune, 16 August 2007; "150 jobless expats duped," Bahrain Tribune, 16 August 2007; "Govt entity may hire, sponsor all workers," Bahrain Tribune, 24 August 2007