Filipino amnesty applicants practice physical distancing measures outside the processing center Al Muthanna Primary School For Boys in Farwaniya Area, Kuwait. (Kuwait PE photo)
28 April 2020 – The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait and its attached agencies have been going full force in assisting undocumented Filipinos during the month-long amnesty period for residence visa violators, which will end on 30 April 2020.
In a statement, Consul General to Kuwait Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N. Lomondot said that the Embassy, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are “working hand in hand” to fast-track the amnesty applications of undocumented Filipinos and those with absconding cases.
“During the 1-5 April 2020 application period exclusive for Filipinos, the Embassy issued on the spot hundreds of Travel Documents to Filipino amnesty applicants who do not hold their Philippine passports with them, and Reports of Birth to undocumented children. Through the help of the Public Authority for Manpower and concerned individuals, we also extended free transport to those who are affected by the suspension of mass transportation in Kuwait,” Consul General Lomondot said.
“Under the one-country team approach, the Embassy, the POLO-OWWA, and the DSWD will continue to serve our undocumented and distressed kababayan during this amnesty period despite the coronavirus crisis in Kuwait,” Consul General Lomondot added.
Meanwhile, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. and Vice Consul Charleson C. Hermosura said that the Embassy will continue to assist undocumented and distressed Filipinos, following the resumption of the amnesty application period for Filipinos and other nationalities last 26 April 2020. “The Filipino community is assured that the Embassy stands ready to assist Filipinos who wish to apply for until the last day of the amnesty period on 30 April 2020, so that they could be reunited with their families in the Philippines very soon.”
To date, close to 2,000 undocumented and distressed Filipinos are now back in the Philippines after joining the amnesty program. By applying for amnesty from the Kuwaiti government, they neither had to pay for any immigration fine nor be subjected to deportation, giving them the chance to return and work in Kuwait again.
The Embassy continues to appeal to all qualified Filipinos to come home to the Philippines by applying for amnesty at the Farwaniya Primary School For Girls for female amnesty applicants, and the neighboring Al Muthanna Primary School For Boys for male amnesty applicants from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Amnesty applicants must bring with them their valid Philippine passports, and their two luggage (one 20-kilogram bag for check-in, and one 7-kilogram bag for hand-carry).
Those who do not have valid Philippine passports must first go to the Embassy to apply for a Travel Document. They are requested to bring three passport-size ID photos with blue background, and photocopies of their most recent passport, Kuwait Civil ID, or Kuwait entry visa.
All amnesty grantees are given temporary shelter, with food and medical provisions, and one-way air tickets to the Philippines, at the Kuwaiti government’s expense. END
The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait’s Assistance to Nationals Unit is joined by Mr. Ali Dalmany of the Public Authority for Manpower of Kuwait, which provided free transport to Filipino amnesty applicants who are affected by the suspension of public transportation services in Kuwait. The free transport service ran from 2 to 5 April 2020, during the amnesty application period exclusive for Filipinos. (Kuwait PE photo)
Visit the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait's Coronavirus Disease 2019 webpage for the latest updates and advisories on the COVID-19 situation in Kuwait: https://kuwaitpe.dfa.gov.ph/covid19
