Despite the breakthrough in recruiting domestic workers from the Philippines, the situation is different for expatriates. Expatriates are now required to obtain approval of their sponsor and must have a minimum salary of KD 2500 to recruit Filipino domestic workers, Al-Rai daily reported.
While the information that expatriate families were not allowed to bring house maids from the Philippines shocked some, the Philippine ambassador to the country, H E Mohamed Noureddine Lomondot, confirmed that there is no decision to reject the requests of expatriates living in Kuwait, but the permission is subject to several conditions.
He stated that among the additional documents required of non-Kuwaitis, there is a certificate from the resident’s sponsor that he does not object to the expat sponsoring the domestic worker from the Philippines, and another certificate of his salary to determine his ability to fulfill the obligations noting that his request may be rejected if his salary is low.
Lemondot pointed out that the embassy does not discriminate, but these conditions were set to avoid what happened in the past years. Some residents made the domestic worker work in countries other than Kuwait, without the knowledge of the embassy or even the consent of the workers.
