Manama: Kuwaiti security agencies deported 29,000 foreigners last year, an average of 80 a day.
“The reasons for the deportations were related to the violation of the residence and labour laws and implications in illegal actions, dealing mainly with traffic irregularities and crimes,” a security source told Kuwaiti daily Al Qabas.
The deportation process was much quicker than it used to be and deportees were flown out of the country within a week of their detention, the source added.
“Anyone who was remanded in the deportation facility spent just one week there, the time [needed] to book his or her ticket and completing the paperwork process. The tickets are often booked in an agency located within the detention facility in order to ease the process, and the travel often occurred within a maximum of three days after the booking. There were sponsors who cooperated smoothly with the authorities.”
The deportees who stayed one or two months in the detention centre needed to regularise their situation following financial lawsuits filed against them and their stay depended on the schedule of the court sessions.
Indians topped the list of the people who were deported from Kuwait last year, representing 26 per cent of the total. Egyptians were second with 22 per cent, followed by Filipinos and Ethiopians with 13 per cent each.
Sri Lankans were fifth with 6 per cent, ahead of Bangladeshis with 5 per cent of the total number of deportees.
The other nationalities represented one fifth of the total number of people who were sent back home.
Kuwait follows a strict policy regarding deportation and communities are often warned to abide by the rules to avoid being deported.
Under the rules, any foreigner involved in a street brawl or in a serious violation of the traffic rules represents a risk to public order and safety, and is deported.
