Kuwait is planning to place a five-year residency cap on expats and to ban them from taking their families to the Gulf State.
The proposals also include limiting the number of expats in the country to 10% of the population of 1.25 million. The Kuwaiti expat community numbers around 2.5 million.
The right of return within six months of leaving Kuwait for expats with residency visas is also to go.
However, clause written into the bill will allow the Kuwaiti government to exempt expats with special skills from the rules.
Another clause will also exempt other Gulf State nationals and expats from the European Union and USA.
Doctors will also be excluded from the proposals.
Draft bill
Low-skilled workers make up the largest proportion of the expat community in Kuwait. Around 670,000 Indians are the largest group, followed by 520,000 Egyptians and 210,000 Bangladeshis, and thousands more Pakistani, Filipino and Syrian expats.
The bill proposes no expat group should number more than 187,000.
This means thousands of these workers will be forced to leave Kuwait and most will be unable to return.
The bill needs to pass through a committee stage before going before the parliament for approval.
Observers see the move as a wider policy under Gulf State Council countries to reduce their reliance on expat workers and to increase the number of jobs for their nationals.
Saudi Arabia has deported thousands of expat workers and tightened work visas and employment rules in a job creation scheme for young, unemployed Saudis.
Bahrain and Oman are considering a cap on numbers of expats, while the Omani government has also announced a forthcoming tax on expat remittances.
Driving licence rules
Kuwait’s deputy prime minister and interior minister Sheikh Mohammed Al-Khaled Al-Sabah has also announced driving licence restrictions for expats.
Expats must hold a residency visa for two years before applying for a driving licence. They must also earn a minimum salary of £1,300 a month, hold a university degree, meet age and health rules and pass a driving test.
Sharjah homes for expats
In the United Arab Emirates, expats can buy homes in Sharjah for the first time as the government tries to take the heat out of the Dubai property market.
Expats have the go-ahead to buy leasehold homes, providing they hold a UAE residence visa.
The leases are for a maximum of 100 years and only apply to buildings, not land.
The Sharjah government is also looking at restricting expat purchases to special investment zones.
