KUWAIT: General Talal Marafi chairs the meeting.

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior's General Directorate for Residency Affairs is to start the linkage of the expatriates' residency visas to the validity of their passports as of 1st January, 2016. In a press statement, the Ministry of Interior said that Director of the General Directorate for Residency Major General Talal Marafi held an expanding meeting with the directorate's senior officials and officials of other concerned departments to put the final touches on the ministry's preparations for the visa-passport linkage.

Marafi noted that the move would better regulate residency visa issuance services, detection of violations and collections of fines from the rule violators. He pointed out that the ministry coordinates with the foreign embassies to ensure their nationals' compliance with the new guidelines. He also urged Kuwaiti sponsors to check the validity of their domestic helpers' passports to avoid being penalized as per the regulation.

The linking comes in implementation of provisions of residency law No. 17 of 1959. This law stipulates that the validity of residency visa would not exceed the validity of the passports' and the residency would be cancelled the moment the passports expire. Expatriates are not permitted to obtain a new residency until the passports are renewed. - KUNA