By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone in the Gulf State of Kuwait has promised to expedite the repatriation process of migrant Sierra Leoneans who had allegedly violated their residential permits in the country.
This development came after a Sierra Leonean based in Kuwait informed Politico that there are citizens living in Kuwait who want to return home but that the Sierra Leone embassy is not doing much to help them. He explained that the Kuwaiti government had already granted Amnesty to Sierra Leonean nationals without proper documentation so they could freely process their return home.
He accused the embassy of collecting monies from them for flight tickets and other administrative charges two months ago, but they are yet to fast-track their movement.
The Sierra Leone Information Attaché in Kuwait, Cyril Barnes in an interview with Politico said the Embassy did not receive money from anybody for tickets, and that the embassy only advised them to buy their tickets from Ethiopian Airlines as it is the only airline that allows Emergency Travel Certificates (ETCs) for travelling passengers.
He added that the delay in the repatriation process is not from the Embassy, but due to the large number of documents the Kuwait government is working on.
Barnes said that 61 Sierra Leoneans have already done fingerprinting and that 9 of them have been processed to travel.
It could be recalled that on the 15th of March this year, the Sierra Leone Embassy in Kuwait issued a press release informing the Sierra Leone community that the government of Kuwait had given an amnesty for migrants to regularize their status in the kingdom. The amnesty, announced during the Holy Month of Ramadan was to run from 17th March 2024 to 17th June 2024.
The release quoted the Ministry of Interior of Kuwait as stating that the amnesty period addresses those who have violated the residency law of Kuwait to pay a fine to legalize their status during the said period. It also stated that violators can leave the country without paying any fine, saying an offender who leaves the country during that period will be allowed to return with new procedures.
It added that violators who have legal and administrative cases should engage the General Administration of Residence Affairs.
Accordingly, the Sierra Leone Embassy promised to liaise with the relevant authorities in Kuwait to obtain detailed information regarding the process of paying fines accumulated and also legalizing the status of violators.
The mission also admonished Sierra Leoneans to refrain from paying any amount to any individual to legalize their status in Kuwait.
“Sierra Leoneans engaging any individual without going through the legal procedure may do so at their disadvantage. The Embassy would not be in any position to mediate or offer assistance to the person(s) affected. The Mission will provide periodic updates regarding the regularization of status in the State of Kuwait during the abovementioned period,” part of the release read at the time.
An update from the Embassy dated 24th March informed that fingerprints for departing Sierra Leoneans will be done thrice weekly (Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays at 9:00 am) between April and early May.
It encouraged departing Sierra Leoneans to secure their air tickets immediately after doing fingerprints for swift departure to Sierra Leone.
“Departing Sierra Leoneans who wish to do fingerprints in June may face difficulties travelling to Sierra Leone,” the update states.
It also advised Sierra Leoneans (Visas 18 & 20) desiring to pay their accumulated fines of KWD600 (six hundred Kuwait Dollars) for renewal of their residency in Kuwait to engage their first companies or sponsors.
The Embassy assured of continued commitment to seeking the welfare and addressing the numerous concerns of Sierra Leoneans in Kuwait.
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