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Ethiopian embassy shutdown leaves expats in a dilemma

Other Kuwait City 17 Oct 21
Ethiopian embassy shutdown leaves expats in a dilemma
Ethiopian embassy shutdown in Kuwait leaves thousands in limbo. Many face fines for failure to renew their passports
Fee
Event Location
Kuwait, Kuwait
Area
Kuwait City
Start Time
17 October 2021, 12:00 AM
End Time
31 October 2021, 12:00 AM
Website

Ethiopia announced closing and downsizing 31 of its diplomatic missions around the world including Kuwait as part of austerity measures.

Thousands of Ethiopian expatriates in Kuwait have found themselves in a dilemma after their country’s embassy was closed in September, making them unable to renew their passports in due time, according to a Kuwaiti newspaper.

Around 30,000 to 35,000 Ethiopians, mostly domestic workers, reside in Kuwait.

Many of them had applied to renew their passports before the embassy’s closure, a step necessary for them to renew their residency permits, Al Anba newspaper reported.

Many such Ethiopians are liable to a fine of KD2 per day imposed by Kuwaiti authorities, for failure to renew their residency permits, Al Rai quoted what it termed as well-informed sources.

“Some sponsors may refuse to pay these fines for their employees because they were not the reason for them. So, each employee may have to pay the fine for the residency violation, a matter that may result in his/her departure from work or escape from the sponsor,” a source said.

Ethiopian Ambassador to Kuwait Hassan Taju told Al Rai that they are still awaiting instructions from his country’s Foreign Ministry, adding he has information that all passports presented for renewal will be sent to the Ethiopian embassy in Saudi Arabia for processing and that the mission there will announce the delivery mechanism.


Kuwait Ethiopian embassy shutdown



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