Kuwait City: The Kuwaiti municipality has decided to increase the fees that expatriates have to pay for various government services. The move is to increase fees for almost all services, including renewal of residence permits. Al-Qabas newspaper reported that some fees would increase 14-fold. The fee hike will take effect from next year.
The license renewal fee for canteen and kiosk operators in government departments has been increased by 1400 per cent. It currently costs 20 dinars. The municipality has decided to increase this to 300 dinars by next year. The current charge of 10 dinars for splitting and merging plots will be increased to 40 dinars. It has been decided to submit new applications, renew existing ones and charge a new fee of 80 dinars. A new fee of 100 dinars will be levied on applications for allotment of government land for business purposes. It costs 200 dinars to renew.
Earlier, it was reported that the government would increase the fees charged to expatriates by five times from next year. But reports from People say that’s just what’s happening. Raising the work permit fee for expatriates in Kuwait is also under consideration. The report also said that the Public Authority of Manpower would form a special committee to decide on the matter.
Meanwhile, the Manpower Authority has decided to increase the visa renewal fee for expatriates over the age of 60 and those without a degree from 50 dinars to 500 dinars and make health insurance compulsory for them, but it has not yet been implemented. Because of this, tens of thousands of expatriates are unable to renew their visas. In January this year, it was decided to ban the renewal of visas for those over 60, but it was canceled following protests. Subsequently, it was decided to renew the visa on the condition of health insurance by charging a fee of 500 dinars. The Manpower Authority is awaiting the decision of the government in this regard.
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