KUWAIT CITY, Feb 24: In a move aimed at protecting Egyptians from human and visa traffickers, the Labor Office in the Egyptian Embassy has stopped approving work permits for farmers, reports Al-Qabas daily.

This step was taken after the embassy decided in April 2019 not to approve work permits for small enterprises as hundreds of Egyptians have fallen victim to visa trafficking, especially since the law prohibits their transfer from one sector to another - whether those registered as employees, farmers or fishermen.

Sources unveiled the embassy’s plan to include fishermen and other categories of workers who cannot transfer to another sector due to irregularities in the recruitment process linked with visa trafficking. Sources affirmed there has been coordination with Kuwaiti governmental bodies in this regard.

It has been reported the price of visas for Egyptian farmers, fishermen and small enterprises is not less than KD 1,000. According to official statistics issued by the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) for the year 2019, the number of Egyptian workers reached 520,000 or 18 percent of the total workforce in the country.