KUWAIT: The ministry of interior announced a decision to cancel the residencies of expatriates holding article 18 iqamas who left Kuwait on May 1, 2022 or earlier from November 1 onwards, equating to six months spent outside the country. Sources told Kuwait Times that all who left from June onwards will have their iqamas revoked from December onwards, and so on.

Meanwhile, informed sources revealed the interior ministry will provide a new site to accommodate those detained at the deportation prison in preparation for their deportation from the country. "The ministry of interior will continue its strict policy of not tolerating residency violators, and there will be no grace periods in which violators are allowed to leave with impunity, after giving many amnesties that gave permission to violators to leave, but they did not obey the instructions, which caused the number of violators to double instead of decreasing. Moreover, in the recent period, scores of foreigners entered Kuwait on visit visas, which expired, but they did not leave," the sources said.

The sources pointed out the ministry expects to arrest hundreds of thousands of violators, which will force it to provide places of detention for these people, especially since the deportation prison will not be enough if the plan to arrest violators goes as planned. The sources stressed the deportation procedures will not be lengthy, and the ministry of interior will work in cooperation with concerned authorities to deport violators within three days of their arrest, except for those who have cases that require them to be detained to complete their trials.

The sources pointed out that instructions have been issued to the ministry of interior leadership to continue to pursue residency violators and increase inspection campaigns, and not be affected by the preparations for the National Assembly elections, which also requires security teams of military personnel in large numbers to provide security.

The sources pointed out the instructions issued also include punishing the sponsors of those who are arrested and preventing them from sponsoring foreigners for a period of not less than two years, as well as bearing the cost of deporting the expatriate. The deported foreigners will face a permanent ban on entering Kuwait in the future, they added.