Kuwait terminates employment of hundreds of expats

Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior has announced the termination of employment for over 800 expatriates, the majority of whom are from Arab countries.

The terminated expatriates have been given a one-month grace period to finalise their employment affairs before the terminations take effect, according to Gulf News.

While the ministry has not provided explicit reasons for these mass terminations, it is widely believed that the move is aligned with the ongoing Kuwaitisation policy.

This initiative seeks to replace expatriate workers with Kuwaiti nationals across various sectors in the country as a means to prioritise employment opportunities for citizens.

This recent announcement follows a similar trend observed in the country’s education sector.

At the end of last academic year, the Ministry of Education in Kuwait terminated approximately 1,800 expatriate teachers, despite the shortage of teaching staff within the country.

In August, Kuwait had decided to introduce more travel restrictions for expats and insist more bills are paid in full before they can leave the country.

Under new plans, expats in the country could be required to pay electricity and water bills before being allowed to travel internationally, according to a report in Al Rai.

Last week it was reported that Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior introduced new rules requiring expats in the country to settle traffic fines and violations before they could exit for any reason.

The ministry called on expats to comply with the rules in order to maintain security and public order.

Citing unnamed sources, the media reported that Interior Minister Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled Al-Sabah has tasked ministries to cooperate to ensure expats settle debts before exiting the country for any reason.

The new measures will be introduced from September onwards, meaning expats will need to pay debts held in their name owed to electricity and water companies.

The update comes as Kuwait looks to collect large sums in unpaid bills.