• KUWAIT CITY, July 26: The parents and siblings of expatriates in Kuwait will not be allowed to enter the country on family visas, even if the expatriates are prepared to pay for the visitors’ health insurance, until the new fees are approved by the National Assembly, reports Al-Rai daily quoting security sources.

They indicated that the new fees will be much higher than the old fees such that only expatriates earning high incomes will be able to afford them.The sources explained that Ministry of Interior last month started applying the health insurance policy for the parents and siblings of expatriates in the country upon renewal of their residencies. The number of renewed residencies this month was about 1,500. A total of 13,000 residents are subject to the decision of the new health insurance policy.Public Authority for Manpower has approved to allow owners of companies and institutions (employers) to recruit additional workers from overseas above the permitted quota, provided they pay KD 250 for each additional worker.According to informed sources, the authority approved to fulfill the desire of employers who have presented applications in this regard to reduce the high monthly financial commitments they have to meet due to the salaries they pay for national labor which are much more than the wages of workers recruited from overseas.Ministry of Health is expected to issue a circular in the next few days concerning treatment of expatriates in accident units and emergency rooms of public hospitals.They indicated that these departments will not receive any expatriate except those transferred from medical centers or those involved in emergency cases.The sources explained that the latest statistics from the ministry showed an increase in congestion in the accident units and emergency rooms of hospitals. The ministry also observed increased number of visits to the eye, ENT (ear, nose and throat) and bone hospitals directly without being transferred from the medical centers, which in turn causes uneasiness and embarrassment as well as increases the waiting period in hospitals.They stressed that the ministry is seeking to prepare an integrated plan to activate the role of primary care centers such that the implementation of the plan will start with expatriates through the issuance of a circular to prevent reception of expatriates in the accident units unless they are transferred from the clinics and primary care centers.The sources indicated that another circular will be issued to restrict receiving non-residents of a governorate, except for emergency and critical cases whereby the non-resident can start their treatment in that hospital and then will be referred to hospital of their governorate for completion of the treatment.