Kuwait lifts travel, OFW deployment ban

KUWAIT has decided to lift the ban on the entry of Filipino travelers and workers to the Arab state after more than one year of diplomatic and labor impasse with the Philippines.

In a joint statement released Monday night Philippine time, Kuwait and Philippine governments said they “finally resolved the issue of resuming the recruitment of Filipino workers to the State of Kuwait” after “extensive discussion” on June 23, 2024.

On one hand, the Philippines will allow the recruitment of domestic workers to Kuwait , but limited only to those “who have previously worked abroad and have work experience abroad.”

A bilateral meeting was held Sunday afternoon at Seif Palace in Kuwait between the two sides headed by Philippine Migrant Workers Undersecretary Bernard Olalia and Kuwait’s First Vice President The Cabinet, the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah.

Both sides also agreed to establish a joint technical working committee “to address issues related to employment and address all concerns that may arise in the future.”

It can be recalled that the DMW imposed a partial deployment ban of newly hired Filipino domestic workers to Kuwait following the death of Filipino maid Jullebee Ranara.

Ranara was killed, burnt and thrown in the middle of the desert in Kuwait in January 2023. The Kuwaiti police immediately arrested the 17-year old son of her employer and was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment by the Kuwaiti courts.

In retaliation to Philippine deployment ban, Kuwait also  imposed a ban on issuance of visas not only to OFWs but to all Filipino nationals, except those who have been previously issued visas.

According to the joint statement, the joint technical working committee shall be composed of the “competent authorities in both countries” and shall meet periodically.

The agreement was reached “based on the friendly relations” between Kuwait and the Philippines and the “sincere desire of both sides to strengthen bilateral working relations” between the two countries, the joint statement said.

Both governments affirmed their “commitment to the approach and legal frameworks” based on the 2018 bilateral agreement related to the Filipino domestic workers employment in Kuwait.