While the H-1B visa restrictions shocked the Indians in the U.S this move is on the verge of pushing 8 lakh Indians out. The middle eastern country of Kuwait has drafted a bill to regulate the number of non-native (Expat) people in the country’s population. The legal and legislative committee of Kuwait’s National Assembly (Parliament) has approved a draft expat quota bill.
The draft bill is constitutional and seeks to limit the number of Indians to 15 percent of the total 30 lakh immigrants population (out of a sum total of 43 lakhs). Indians comprise of a strength of around 14 .5 lakhs in the total immigrants’ population. If the bill passes (which looks likely) then as per 15% limit only around lakh Indians would be allowed to reside in the country forcing over 8 lakhs to leave. Unfortunately, a large percentage of Indians in Kuwait are unskilled workers. They would be the worst hit.
However, the move is not only targeted at Indians. The Kuwaiti government seeks to reduce the population of from 70 to 30 percent of the total population of the country. “We have a future challenge to redress this imbalance“, said Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah Prime Minister of Kuwait. Since countries of the world are hit hard by pandemic the immigrants have become the target of the actions.
In Kuwait also anti-expat rhetoric has spiked since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic with lawmakers and government officials call for reducing the number of foreigners. Of the total number of COVID- 19 cases in the country majority are among the ex-pats. Another reason for fueling the sentiments.
