Kuwait considers limiting expat’s stay to 5 years

A draft law being debated at the Kuwaiti parliament proposes restricting the expatriate’s stay in the country to five years, Al Qabas newspaper has reported.

The limitation is part of several amendments to Kuwait’s laws on foreigners’ residence and naturalisation, expected to be approved by the legislature after the parliament’s Interior and Defence Committee said there is consensus on both drafts with the government.

According to the proposed amendments, foreign owners of properties and investors in Kuwait shall be granted residency of a maximum of 15 years.

The draft bill, moreover, allows a foreigner in Kuwait to get a temporary three-month stay that can be renewed for a year by the Interior Ministry, it added.

Meanwhile, the naturalisation draft stipulates that a foreign wife or widow of a Kuwaiti man can get Kuwaiti citizenship after 18 years of marriage. There was no official comment on the report.