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Visa-strict bid to ban beggars |
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Tuesday, 05 July 2011 00:45 |
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KUWAIT CITY, July 3: The Immigration General Department of the Ministry of Interior has decided to be very strict in granting family, commercial and touristic visit visas to limit the phenomenon of begging in the country during Ramadan, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.
Sources say the decision was taken after officials of the ministries of Interior and Social Affairs and Labor held many intense meetings and also in light of the fact that many expatriates who visit the country on company or family visas resort to begging during Ramadan. Many other decisions were taken in this regard, said sources, adding expatriates caught red-handed will be deported and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor will close the file of the violating company that brought them on touristic or commercial visas. “In case, a beggar comes on the sponsorship of an expatriate, the beggar will be deported and a case will be registered against the latter. And if the beggar is found to be a Bedoun, the Central System for the Remedy of the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) will be notified and a case against the suspect will be registered,” said sources.
Meanwhile, according to the latest calculations of the Fintas Observatory, the lunar month of Ramadan will begin on a Monday, coinciding with Aug 1, meteorologist Adel Al-Saadoun told KUNA, Sunday. Al-Saadoun added that the new crescent would be seen in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, but will not be visible in Kuwait Sunday evening, though the birth of the new moon, called conjunction (with the sun), occurs Saturday, 9:40 in the evening. - Arabtimes
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