MP Abdulla Al Tarji has tweeted that MOI will put on hold a decision taken to suspend expats driving licence transaction until a proper study has been conducted.
The MP said that the Minister of Interior has assured him that the decision has been put on hold until further notice.
Earlier the MOI had formed a technical committee under the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Lieutenant-General Faisal Al-Nawaf, to place a ‘block’ on all driving licenses to prevent renewal or replacement for lost license for all residents which is what it makes those whose licenses expired vulnerable to violation and legal problems in case of a traffic accident.
The expatriates would have to wait for the procedures to be adopted as the committee looked into the issue of driving licenses to sort out who are eligible to have the license and who are not, Al-Rai daily reported.
Moreover, the issue was linked electronically with the concerned government agencies, a crisis that would have restricted expatriates, especially those whose licenses have expired to have access to driving licenses, in addition to making them prone to legal problems.
Informed sources have warned that “the decision would cause a new crisis or rather complete paralysis and will affect all sectors including the hospitals and clinics, project engineers in charge of projects and technicians working on government projects in addition to causing huge financial losses and economic paralysis at the private and civil sector levels especially since a majority of workers had obtained driving licenses according to conditions set by the Ministry of Interior, which needs immediate treatment and a quick decision to remedy the risks resulting from taking such instructions.
The sources pointed out that “the instructions issued to the directors of traffic departments in the governorates stipulate to start withdrawing licenses from expatriates who obtained them illegally, starting from the 26th of this month, after the completion of the automated link between the Manpower and Residence Affairs Authority and the information systems in the Ministry of Interior.
The sources said, “The committee was continuing to address the defect and end the problem of traffic congestion in the country, by reorganizing the granting of driving licenses to those who meet the conditions. Those who do not meet the conditions will have a block placed on the license and withdrawn, and violators will be expelled from the country.”
The sources stated “this decision, which was taken to control traffic congestion and to tighten the issue of driving licenses, has faced a lot of criticism, as it is illogical to implement a regulatory decision that causes harm to expatriates and some citizens who have drivers at home who drive children to schools.”
Ministerial Resolution No. 5598/2014 issued on Nov 25, 2014 states that a non-Kuwaiti applicant for a private or public driving license:
1 – Must have obtained a legal residence permit in the country for at least two years.
2 – His monthly salary should not be less than 600 dinars.
3 – Must have a university degree.
Exception for all conditions
1 – The Kuwaiti wife and his foreign widow or his foreign divorcee and has children from him.
2 – The husbands of Kuwaiti women and their children who are foreigners.
3 – Illegal residents holding valid security cards.
4 – Students enrolled in a university or an applied institute inside Kuwait.
5 – Members of diplomatic corps.
6 – Professional players in sports clubs and federations in government agencies.
7 – Drivers and delegates (general delegate, passports and affairs delegate) and they have valid licenses.
8 – Servant, working for the sponsor for a period of no less than 5 years, provided that the profession is changed to a driver.
9 – Technicians specialized in oil fields in oil companies.
10 – Pilots, captains and their assistants.
11 – Nurses, physiotherapists and technicians of medical professions.
12 – Washers of the dead.
13 – Housewives if they have children and their spouses from the following categories — the judiciary, members of the Public Prosecution Office, advisors and experts; faculty members in universities and institutes; doctors and pharmacists; general managers and their assistants.”
7 categories excluded from ‘residence’ and ‘salary cap’
1 – Judges, members of the Public Prosecution Office and advisors
2 – Faculty members in universities and applied institutes.
3 – Journalists and media professionals.
4 – Doctors and pharmacists.
5- Researchers of all their names, jurists, translators, librarians and imams of mosques working in government agencies.
6 – Teachers, social workers and engineers.
7 – Sports coaches working in sports federations and clubs in government agencies.
However, the driver’s or representative’s license is canceled when residence permit expires or change in profession. A new license is not granted until after two years and with new procedures.
The license is canceled when changing the profession to a profession not covered by the decision.
All driving licenses issued to non-Kuwaitis are valid according to the length of stay.