30,000 expats who visited the residency affairs department to amend their status were found to be in violation of residency laws, and incurred fines of KD2 per day due to the failure of their sponsors and companies to renew their visas, Al Qabas reported. The daily said, quoting security sources, that sponsors and expats whose residency visas had expired starting from September 1, while inside the country, will be penalized with a fine of KD2 for every day they are illegal in the country.
The decision of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anas Khalid Al Saleh to renew the residency and visit visas for another 3 months automatically, and without the need to make an appointment at the residency affairs departments, and it includes those whose residency permits expired in the duration leading up to the date of August 31 only.
Al-Qabas daily said, referring to information from sources, that these violators failed to renew their visas in time as they mistakenly believed that their residency visa was valid in accordance with Article 14 (temporary residence) until 30 November, which is incorrect, and will face accumulated fines based on a penalty where every day a violator remains in the country illegally will incur a fine of KD2.
The residency affairs departments in the six governorates are monitoring the expiration of the residency permits of thousands of expats since the first of September, and that their sponsors or representatives of the companies they work for have not submitted a request to amend their status (obtain temporary residency) or provide them with a new work permit issued by the Public Authority for Power.
The decision issued by Interior Minister Anas Al-Saleh was clear, explicit and specific to the expats, and those who fail to comprehend the decision will be affected by the consequences. The sources pointed out that every expat whose residency visa expired after the end of August is in violation of the residency law, and is subject to a fine of two dinars for each day of delay before modifying his status, calling on the sponsors and heads of families to submit to the Department of Residency Affairs a request to amend their status and pay the fines due on them.