This has led to the escalation of hostile sentiments against expats, and the tightening of laws and regulations to discourage them from staying in the country.
Safa Al Hashem, Kuwait’s only female MP, is notorious for her populist comments against expats, including recommending that expats should be banned from obtaining driving licenses and should be taxed to walk on the streets.
Kuwait's Public Sector To Lay Off 'Unnecessary' Expats By Year-End
Obtaining Kuwaiti driving licences has been made more difficult, by piling on stricter conditions, such as the applicant needing a university degree, having a minimum monthly salary of 600 Kuwaiti Dinars ($1,967) and being a Kuwaiti resident for a minimum of two years.
Rights groups have criticised the Kuwaiti government for its handling of the deportation of expats, sometimes on flimsy grounds.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in 2014 the effort to dramatically reduce the number of migrant workers in Kuwait "has led to the implementation of regulations to allow for swift and unlawful deportation".
However, HRW praised Kuwait for recent labour reforms, and for continuing to grant it access in the country unlike other Gulf countries.
