Investigations are ongoing into alleged corruption of visa trading, as more cases come to light. About 5,000 Pakistanis entered Kuwait on family and visit visas, despite strict rules on issuing visas for 5 nationalities from Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq since 2011, reports Al Qabas daily. All types of visas, including family, tourist, private and business visas, and work permits for nationalities from these countries were stopped until further notice for security reasons.
However, the daily, quoting sources, reported that visas were still granted to a huge number of Pakistanis from mid 2014 – 2018, earlier for three years from 2011 to 2014 visas were not issued to the Pakistani community except for well known personalities, who were granted visas with entry and exit dates set in advance and in very limited numbers.
Many from this community have brought their families to Kuwait via giving bribes for visit visas and transferred to family visa or to company residence either because they are wanted by the authorities of their countries, or for fear of arresting them, reports Al Qabas.
The price of visas, through fictitious companies and brokers, is between KD800 and 2,500 dinars, depending on nationality. The work visa for Egyptian workers is between KD1,200 and 1,500 dinars. The price of a Bangladeshi worker visa is between KD800 and 1,100 dinars, according to the expat’s profession. While the prices of Syrian nationality visas were the highest, reaching between KD2000 and 2500 dinars.
It was also found that thousand Iraqis entered the country on family visas and visit visas in a suspicious manner despite implementing a strict rule. Informed sources told that after checking and examining the archives of transactions, it turned out that about a thousand Iraqis entered the country with some exceptions, suspicions were raised that bribes were received to grant this huge amount of Iraqis visas to enter the country during the period from mid-2014 to 2018.