KUWAIT: Security sources described actions taken so far by the interior ministry to address the demographic imbalance problem as lacking, saying that the ministry has passed the buck to the National Assembly to issue legislations to pave the way for other recommendations to be realized, especially with regards to increasing fees for residency permits and punishing those who urge domestic helpers to escape from their sponsors' homes.

The interior ministry implemented several recommendations related to this issue, Al-Rai daily reported yesterday quoting the sources. Such recommendations include increasing crackdowns against residency violators, linking the validity of the residency permit with that of the passport, reducing the number of visit and domestic help visas for citizens and expats to three instead of five and gave a grace period to residency violators, resulting in nearly 20,000 leaving the country, as such achievements are carried out with ministerial decrees and do not need legislation.

The sources said other matters the ministry could not implement are related to fees, including increasing residency fees by up to 100 percent, increasing residency violation fines to KD 4 to a maximum of KD 1,000 and increasing the minimum salary required to KD 450 for family visas, which requires legislations. The ministry implemented some recommendations by the higher committee for the study of demographic imbalance, and could not implement others, said the sources, adding that the law is lacking with regards to punishing those who urge domestic helpers to escape from their sponsors' homes as the case was with Filipino workers lately, and the National Assembly must legislate punishments.