Om Astha Rai

With the expiry of the amnesty period, hundreds of Nepali workers deemed illegal by Kuwait administration face the risk of deportation.

As the four-month amnesty period announced by the Emir of Kuwait in March ended Thursday, the Kuwait administration has renewed its warning to crack down on illegal migrants who did not return to their countries within the stipulated timeframe, according to Madhuban Poudel, Nepal´s ambassador to Kuwait.

“The Kuwait administration is preparing to use its police against illegal workers,” Poudel said. “Those illegal workers who failed to take advantage of the amnesty will be arrested by the Kuwaiti police and punished.” Poudel, however, did not clearly say what sort of punishment will be meted out to the defiant illegal migrant workers.

According to the embassy sources, the defiant illegal workers will be deported. The deported workers will not be allowed to return to Kuwait ever in future. Those who left Kuwait during the amnesty period will be able to return after completing the legal procedures.

According to the embassy, some 3,500 Nepali workers, who were overstaying their work visas or changed employer companies without following due procedures, obtained travel documents from the Nepali embassy. Worse, only half of them have returned home by the end of amnesty period.

Around 40,000 Nepali workers are working in Kuwait, mostly in the Kuwait city. Although a huge number of them have overstayed work visas or changed employer companies, they did not come for travel documents in spite of the repeated call by the embassy to use the amnesty opportunities, which came after a hiatus of two years. Previously, the Kuwait government had announced a general amnesty for illegal migrants in 2008.

Ticket crunch hits workers

Of the total illegal Nepali migrants who received travel documents issued by the embassy, only some 1700 workers were found to have returned to Nepal until a few days ago.

The main problem faced by Nepali workers in returning home after obtaining travel documents is the crunch of air tickets, Nepali workers in Kuwait said.

According to Hari Krishna Neupane, a Nepali worker in Kuwait, those workers who are willing to return to Nepal now need to pay up to 108 Kuwaiti Dinar for an air ticket, which costs only some 53 Kuwait dinars in normal times.

“Around 10,000 illegal workers of different nationalities have obtained travel documents from their respective embassies,” Neupane said, adding, “Since all of them want to fly back home at the same time, there is a huge crunch of air tickets.”

Meanwhile, some illegal Nepali workers, who did not apply for travel documents, are overconfident that they will easily evade the raid by Kuwait police, which also led to the low number of workers taking advantage of the amnesty. “Many workers I am in contact with in Kuwait are frustrated with the lack of job opportunities back in Nepal,” Neupane said. “They say they will better face deportation, if arrested by Kuwait police, rather than return home and become jobless again.”

Published on: 01 July 2011 | Republica