Kuwait Ousts Blue-Collar Expats as Slump, Resentment Bite

Kuwait Ousts Blue-Collar Expats as Slump, Resentment Bite

After more than 45 years washing cars in Kuwait to make ends meet, Egyptian Marzouq Mohammed will soon be kicked out of the country as economic woes and coronavirus stoke anti-foreigner sentiment.

The 65-year-old is among tens of thousands who will be forced to leave the oil-rich emirate, hard hit by collapsing crude prices. 

The cash-strapped government said last month that from January it will no longer renew work permits for expatriates over the age of 60 without university degrees. 

"Now they tell us this? Now they say 'he's 65, he must leave'. Leave where and to do what? We spent a lifetime here," Mohammed told AFP. 

Like its Gulf neighbours, Kuwait depends heavily on cheap foreign labour, mainly Middle Eastern and Asian workers.

Many arrive as young adults to work in blue-collar jobs, occupations