Kuwait nods draft bill that will push 800,000 Indians out of the country

As many as 800,000 Indians could be forced to leave Kuwait after the country's National Assembly has approved the draft expat quota bill.

The National Assembly's legal and legislative committee who approved the draft said the bill "is in line with the Kuwaiti constitution and laws", reported Gulf Business. 

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The draft of the bill said Indians, country's largest foreign community, must not exceed 15 per cent of Kuwait's population.

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The bill that will now be sent to an expert committee to study the legislation, if approved will impact 800,000 Indians who currently reside in the Gulf country. 

 At least 1.45 million Indians currently reside in Kuwait. 

It has also called for bringing down the number of Egyptians residing in the country to 10 per cent, Times of India reported.

After India, Egypt is the second-largest expat community in Kuwait. 

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, last month, said the nation would reduce expat numbers to 30 per cent of the country's population, which is presently 70 per cent, impacting 2.5 million people.

Already, Kuwaiti MPs have asked the government to replace all expat jobs in the government sector within one year. 

In June, Kuwait announced the ban on expatriates working in state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiaries for the year 2020-21.