By B Izzak

KUWAIT: The National Assembly's interior and defense committee yesterday discussed sweeping amendments to the 1959 residency law for foreigners, which calls to grant foreign investors a residence permit for up to 15 years. Rapporteur of the committee MP Saadoun Hammad said the panel reviewed the government-sponsored amendments with Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah and top ministry officials and decided to hold another meeting to vote on the amendments.

The amendments allow Kuwaiti women to sponsor their foreign spouses and children, provided the woman is not a naturalized citizen. Foreign women who are divorced or widows of Kuwaiti husbands have the right to obtain residency, provided they have children.

According to the amendments, expats who are on a visit visa should leave after three months, unless the visa has been renewed, but not for more than a year. Expats can obtain a residence permit for up to five years, while children of Kuwaiti women and owners of real estate can get a residence permit of up to 10 years. Both can be renewed for a similar duration.

Foreign investors can get a residence permit for up to 15 years with guidelines and conditions to be set by the Council of Ministers, according to the amendments. Legal expat residents, with the exception of children of Kuwaiti women, owners of real estate and investors, cannot stay outside the country for more than six months otherwise it will be automatically cancelled. Domestic workers' duration of stay abroad is only four months.

Expats who resign or are sacked from government jobs can seek work with others, provided their former employers agree. The amendments state that the interior ministry will set out all fees related to residencies and their renewal.

MP Hammad also said that the committee approved in principle a draft law by the interior ministry that calls to grant foreign wives of Kuwaiti husbands Kuwaiti citizenship after 18 years of marriage, extending the duration by more than 10 years. The bill also calls to grant widows and divorced wives of Kuwaiti husbands citizenship, also after 18 years, provided they have children. Hammad said the committee will meet later to vote on the bill.

MP Bader Al-Humaidi yesterday submitted a draft law stating that foreigners who apply to enter the country must undergo medical tests and a DNA test proving they are free of psychological diseases. The bill states that foreigners who wish to enter Kuwait for work or as a dependent or for carrying out any business activity must produce a health certificate stating they are free of chronic, infectious and psychological diseases. On top of that, a DNA test is required. The lawmaker said the medical and DNA tests should show the foreigner is free of serious genetic and infectious diseases like hepatitis, kidney ailments and tuberculosis, in addition to psychological disorders.