Kuwait Employment and Career News
Visa traders charging hefty fee for work permit transactions
Visa traders have reportedly increased the price of visas, following legislation issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, tightening laws on issuance of work permits.
The Ministry had issued stringent measures aiming to curb visa trading, and a number of companies involved in trafficking visas were shut down. Visa traders are now said to be charging Arab nationals, a fee as high as KD2,200 for a work permit or “Free Visa”. The cost of the same was just about KD1500 to KD1800 few years ago, while for Asians, the price was KD1200. The renewal fee for the two-year residence visa is about KD600.
The visa traders are charging KD600 to KD700 for visa pertaining to domestic sector, and KD250 to KD300 for annual renewal. Visa traders prefer to sell visas to Arabs at high prices. For instance, a visa trader charges as high as KD2200 for nationals from Morocco, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.
According to sources, under the current labour legislation, it is very difficult for small enterprises to secure a work permit, as all antecedents are subjected to minute scrutiny. One measure taken by the ministry to control visa trading includes, transfer of workers’ salaries to the bank. But few unscrupulous employers are still not abiding by this clause.
Sources reveal that visa traffickers deposit salaries of their workers, and later encash them through the ATM cards of workers, as the card is normally kept in possession of the phantom employer. Most expats have had this experienced, after the companies of such employers were closed down for indulging in visa trading. These employees are now unable to renew or transfer their residence permits.
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