Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Page 1 of 5 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Home > Research Program > Responses to Information Requests Responses to Information Requests Responses to Information Requests (RIR) respond to focused Requests for Information that are submitted to the Research Directorate in the course of the refugee protection determination process. The database contains a sevenyear archive of English and French RIRs. Earlier RIRs may be found on the UNHCR's Refworld website. Please note that some RIRs have attachments which are not electronically accessible. To obtain a PDF copy of an RIR attachment, please email the Knowledge and Information Management Unit. 24 November 2017 ZZZ106021.E Kuwait and Palestine: residence status of stateless Palestinians, including access to employment, education, health care and other services, and the ability to travel in and out of the country; the requirements and procedures to renew residence status; treatment of stateless Palestinians whose residency status has expired (2015-November 2017) Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa For information on residence regulations in Kuwait, see Response to Information Requests KWT104739 of January 2014, KWT104834 of April 2014, and KWT105395 of January 2016. 1. Residence Status of Stateless Palestinians in Kuwait According to sources, Kuwait is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention (DW 28 July 2016; UN 11 Aug. 2016, 7), nor its 1967 Protocol (UN 11 Aug. 2016, 7). A report by the UN Human Rights Committee as part of the 2016 Universal Periodic Review of Kuwait indicates that there is an "absence of a legal framework in [Kuwait] regulating asylum proceedings and defining a refugee, which leads to the arbitrary implementation of the prohibition of non-refoulement" (UN 11 Aug. 2016, 7). The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016 notes that the government of Kuwait "generally cooperated with UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, or other individuals of concern" (US 3 Mar. 2017, 14). Sources indicate that, in order to reside in Kuwait, Palestinians must have a valid work permit (Research Associate 14 Nov. 2017; BADIL 6 Nov. 2017), as well as a kafeel [sponsor] (BADIL 6 Nov. 2017). Human Rights Watch also states that the legal residence and immigration status of foreign workers are tied to an employer, according to the kafala, or sponsorship, system (Human Rights Watch 27 Jan. 2017). 1.1 Ability to Sponsor one's Family According to sources citing an article by Arabic-language Kuwaiti daily Al Rai published on 5 February 2017, a letter by the Ministry of Interior of Kuwait states that, in October 2016, the Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister decided to "'treat Palestinians holding Palestinian passports like all other Arab residents holding Arab passports and to allow them to bring their wives and children into the country'" (Gulf News 6 Feb. 2017; Kuwait Times 6 Feb. 2017). According to a report on a press statement published by Al Rai by Gulf News, an English-language newspaper based in the United Arab Emirates, , the minimum monthly salary required for foreigners to sponsor family members was increased from 250 Kuwaiti Dinars (KD) [C$1,050] to 450 KD [C$1,890], as part of a plan to address a "'demographic imbalance'" in Kuwait, according to the Director General of Residency Talal Al Maarifi (Gulf News 16 Oct. 2016). The same source notes that the "measure will be implemented on all applications for family visas submitted following the publication of the decision" and that, according to the http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/Eng/ResRec/RirRdi/Pages/index.aspx?doc=457306&pls=1 2/14/2018