Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Page 3 of 5 the ministry said it would request Palestinians to present their passports as well as their laissez-passers when they apply for the residency permits," and quoting an Interior Ministry official as stating: We need the laissez-passer because it allows us to deport the expatriate home in case he breaks the laws of Kuwait … It is the guarantee that we need as a security department so that we do not face the issues we faced when dealing with Palestinians carrying Syrian, Jordanian or Egyptia[n] documents who were not, upon their deportation from Kuwait, accepted back by the countries that gave them the documents. (Gulf News 26 Apr. 2017) A 2016 article in the Kuwait Times reports, citing Talal Maarafi, Director General of the Interior Ministry's Residency Affairs Department, that "[n]early 8,000 Palestinians" in Kuwait had been dealing with a dilemma for the past few months after Egyptian authorities stopped renewing their travel documents issued by the Egyptian government on grounds that they already carry Palestinian passports. However, those Palestinians could not renew their visas in Kuwait because Kuwaiti authorities were yet to recognize their passports as official documents. But this changes this week as the systems at all immigration departments around Kuwait will be updated to accept Palestinian passports, Maarafi said, adding that Palestinians with expired visas would then be required to obtain a certificate from the Palestinian Embassy to confirm that their passports are valid, before their new visas are printed on the passport. (Kuwait Times 16 Oct. 2016) For information on documents required by Kuwaiti authorities when applying for residency permits, see Response to Information Request KWT105395 of January 2016. 3. Situation of Foreigners Whose Residence Status is no Longer Valid US Country Reports 2015 states that authorities deported approximately 22,000 foreign workers for violating the law or suspected of minor legal infractions instead of prosecuting them. In August the Ministry of Interior conducted surprise raids in all six governorates and detained 1,444 foreign workers for a variety of violations including petty crimes, possession of banned substances, and violations of residency laws. Reportedly, authorities deported all of those detained workers. (US 13 Apr. 2016, 4) The same source also indicates that [u]nder the law questions of status, and citizenship, and various provisions of immigration law are not subject to judicial review, so noncitizens arrested, for example, for unlawful residency, or those whose lawful residency is canceled due to an arrest, have no access to the courts. The law subjects noncitizens charged with noncriminal offenses including some residency and traffic violations to administrative deportations that cannot be challenged in court; however, noncitizens charged in criminal cases face legal deportations, which can be challenged in court. (US 13 Apr. 2016, 6) According to US Country Reports 2016, there were "numerous reports of police arresting and detaining foreign nationals without a warrant, primarily as part of the government's action against unlawful residents" (US 3 Mar. 2017, 5). The BADIL legal researcher stated the following regarding the residence of Palestinians in Gulf countries, including Kuwait: If their residency permit has expired and hasn't been renewed, then Palestinian refugees risk detention by the local authorities, and potentially deportation. We have been contacted by both Palestinian refugees who had been detained, and who have been deported. (BADIL 6 Nov. 2017) The same source also noted that "if the kafeel, for any reason, stops guaranteeing you, then the country usually expels you" (BADIL 6 Nov. 2017). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. According to a May 2015 article in the Kuwait Times, reprinting an article from Al Rai, Kuwait's Manpower Public Authority "suspends companies with code 71 [1] if they violate the labor law by bringing workers from abroad or hiring local labor without actually providing them with real jobs or proving their need for such laborers," explaining that this practice is often used by human traffickers (Kuwait Times 11 May 2015). In a June 2015 article, citing "Manpower Public Authority's Deputy Director Ahmad Al-Mousa," Kuwait Times reports that, under code 71, "[f]ake companies" were given until 1 August 2015 to "legalize their status," noting that "6,770 violating companies employing 33,000 laborers [needed] to address their situation" (Kuwait Times 4 June 2015). A January 2017 article by the same source cites "[a]ssessment and follow-up director at the Public Authority for Manpower Sabah Al-Mutairi" as announcing that "1,090 companies - including 90 fake ones - that were closed down according to code 71, had been referred for http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/Eng/ResRec/RirRdi/Pages/index.aspx?doc=457306&pls=1 2/14/2018