Canada moves to help Canadians stranded in Kuwait without exit permits – National
The government of Kuwait has agreed to help Canadians who wish to leave the Gulf country but cannot because their employers will not give them exit permits, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on Thursday.
Global News learned earlier this week that some Canadians wanted to leave the Gulf country after Kuwait was attacked by Iranian missiles and drones.
But Canadians employed there — like all expatriates working for Kuwaiti firms — must obtain permission to leave from their employer.
And some employers were ignoring or rejecting requests that Canadians made to their employers.
“It’s become a hostage situation,” said one of those Canadians who were trapped in Kuwait earlier this week. Global News has agreed not to identify a person concerned about retaliation from their employer. “Our e-mails are being ignored and problems are not being solved.”
Kuwait has been attacked more than half a dozen times since the US and Israel attacked Iran.
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More than 100 missiles and more than 300 drones were targeted at Kuwait and some hit the airport, port and other office towers. Four died and nearly 70 were injured, according to AFP, CBS, the The Wall Street Journal and others.
Global Affairs Canada could not say how Canadians may not be able to obtain the necessary permits, but department officials said in an emailed statement that they were “aware that there are Canadians in Kuwait who want to leave and are currently unable to obtain permission to leave from their employers.”
Responding to a question from Global News on Thursday, Anand said he called his colleague in Kuwait.
“In times of crisis, diplomacy is a powerful tool,” Anand said on Thursday in response to the question.
“I called [Foreign] Minister [Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al Mohammad] Al Sabah on this issue and asked to speed up the ability of Canadians to leave. He agreed wholeheartedly. And Global Affairs Canada is urgently providing a list of Canadians who wish to leave so that the list can be approved quickly and the Canadians in question can leave.“
Kuwait’s law requiring foreigners to obtain exit permits from employers is controversial.
“Kuwait’s exit visa requirement violates international human rights law,” Human Rights Watch researcher Michael Page wrote last July as Kuwait revised its exit permit law.
“Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and return to their own country,” Page wrote. “”Restrictions can only be used in each case for a legitimate and proportionate purpose, such as in a criminal investigation. “
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