Kuwait’s Central Agency for Remedying Illegal Residents’ Status (CARIRS) has revoked the citizenship of more than 10,000 people with dual nationality between 2011 and last month, the KUNA news agency has reported.

According to the agency, the step is the result of a full decade of Kuwaiti efforts to address the dual nationality file, and comes as a culmination of a campaign that began last year to confront those who obtain Kuwaiti citizenship illegally. Almost 1,000 such people have been detected to date. Kuwait does not recognise dual nationality and children with dual nationality have two years after reaching the age of 18 to decide whether to retain Kuwaiti nationality or keep their other nationality.

The Director of the Situation Amendment Department in CARIRS, General Muhammad Al-Wahib, told KUNA

that 6,054 residents’ status had been changed to Saudi nationality; 1,188 to Iraqi nationality; 868 to Syrian nationality; 131 to Iranian nationality; 53 to Jordanian nationality; and 1,962 to other nationalities.

Al-Wahib pointed out that these statistics include individuals who have parents or relatives who own documents from different nationalities and do not include those who have other relatives with proven nationality.

He called on those wishing to amend their status to visit CARIRS in the Eastern Region, to settle their residencies and regularise their status according to the residency laws in force in Kuwait.

The Gulf state has in recent years intensified efforts to amend the status of those residing illegally in the country. V.5605

The extensions will help address a backlog of applications. One of the first acts of new Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has been to give visa applicants a reprieve. Schreiber extended the temporary concession for foreigners awaiting the outcome of their visa, waiver and appeal applications. Home Affairs claims the move is aimed at addressing a backlog of applications and not prejudicing the applicants due to the expected delays. Protection for lawful contributors to SA V.5616
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Joel Sihle Ngubane of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party and a member of the portfolio committee on Home Affairs have called on the department to prioritise local skills before issuing critical skills visas to foreigners. V.5617
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The White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection proposes a raft of legislative reforms. • One is that the period a foreign national resides in the country won`t be the main considering factor for granting permanent residency. • The Department of Home Affairs is looking to introduce a points-based system for foreign nationals to apply for residency. V.5618
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Here are the latest adjustments to 2024 car licence renewal fees in South Africa, as the department continues with stringent reforms … The new Transport Minister is taking the department to task over 2024 car licence renewal fees. However, motorists are reminded that when it comes to how much licence renewal will cost outright, it still varies from province to province. V.5614
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The news: South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has announced the government’s plan to digitise the department, eliminating the need for in-person visits. The government expects this online system to reduce, if not eliminate, in-person visits by transforming the current paper-based processes into an automated platform, allowing South Africans to access services like ID applications, passport renewals, and visas remotely. V.5615
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Germany`s Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and Kenya`s President William Ruto signed the deal in Berlin Germany has agreed to open the doors to 250,000 skilled and semi-skilled Kenyan workers in a controlled and targeted labour migration deal. Kenya is struggling with increasing difficulties in providing work and sufficient income for its young professionals, while Germany is facing a shortage of skilled labour. V.5609
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BEIJING - China said it would gradually raise its statutory retirement age, as the country grapples with a looming demographic crisis and an older population. Hundreds of millions of people in China are set to enter old age in the coming decades while the birth rate dwindles dramatically. V.5610
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A surprise inspection at a Pretoria restaurant resulted in the arrest of two foreign national employees who allegedly did not have documentation to be in the country. (Alex Mitchley/News24) • The Department of Labour has conducted a `blitz` inspection at a restaurant in Menlyn. • The surprise inspection came after a complaint alleging the flouting of labour practices by a former employee that started making the rounds on social media. • One of the restaurant owners dismissed the allegations. V.5611
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The Western Cape High Court has temporarily stopped the initiation of any process to deport a foreign national who has indicated an intent to apply for asylum, until their application has been finalised. • The Western Cape High Court has temporarily halted the initiation of any process to deport a foreign national who has indicated an intent to apply for asylum, until their application has been finalised. • The interim interdict will remain in place pending the outcome of the main court application brought by the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town. • The court is expected to hear that main challenge in February 2025. V.5612
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South Africa’s plan to attract more professionals to its skills-starved economy through the introduction of a so-called nomad visa for remote workers has been slowed by the need to amend tax regulations. The impediment comes after an initial delay when changes to the visa regime had to be temporarily withdrawn because mandatory public consultation procedures hadn’t been followed. V.5613
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