The oil sector is following the government’s footsteps in addressing the current economic crisis and the problem of increasing the number of expatriates in Kuwait.
The Kuwaiti Prime Minister had stated weeks ago that the Coronavirus pandemic and the decline in oil prices had caused severe damage to Gulf economies, including Kuwait, and that the number of the expatriate population in Kuwait should be drastically reduced so that it does not exceed 30% of the total population. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah added, “Foreigners make up about 3.4 million of Kuwait’s population of 4.8 million, so Kuwait faces a challenge to correct this imbalance.”
In the oil sector, Minister of Oil Dr. Khaled Al-Fadhel stated that non-Kuwaiti citizens will not be appointed to the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiary companies during the years 2020 and 2021. Al-Fadhel also pledged not to stand “handcuffed” towards the phenomenon of layoffs of Kuwaiti workers from oil companies.
Lawmakers in Kuwait believe that there is a demographic defect in the country and that this imbalance has generated problems in recent years, and that it has become more evident and dangerous since the outbreak of the new Corona virus.
And because the numbers of some foreign communities are approaching the numbers of Kuwaitis, the Kuwaiti legislator is currently adopting a draft law aimed at setting maximum limits for each community in exchange for the Kuwaiti population, and it is prohibited to enter any member of these communities into Kuwait if their number exceeds the quota allocated to them.
As a means of correcting this demographic imbalance, Kuwait is now moving towards implementing a quota system for employing foreigners.
Indians and Egyptians form the largest foreign community in Kuwait. Under the proposed quota system, the number of Indian workers should not exceed 15% of the total Kuwaiti population, while the number of Egyptian expatriates should not exceed 10%.
In the same context, the Kuwaiti government presented an amnesty plan for illegal immigrants in the country to encourage them to leave Kuwait. The amnesty provides illegal expatriates with exemptions from legal punishment and free trips back home. Thousands of expatriates have already responded, seeking to take advantage of the amnesty and return home.