Kuwait’s General Directorate of Traffic has announced that about 3,000 expat driving licences have been revoked in one week due to violation of conditions on which they were granted, Al Rai newspaper reported.
The traffic department revealed that the licences were revoked due to work permit changes or people moving to different occupations and no longer meeting the requirements as a result.
The GDN reported on the Kuwait Interior Ministry’s decision to examine driving licenses belonging to all expats obtained in ‘previous years’ based on the instructions of Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Talal Al-Khaled.
Under current traffic department regulations, expats must be university graduates, draw a monthly salary of at least KD600 (BD727) and must have at least two years of legal residency in the country to hold a driving license in Kuwait.
The traffic department said it would take at least two months to review every licence held by expats in the country.
In the occasion that the department deems the requirements unsatisfactory, the licence will be revoked and the owner summoned to turn it in.
Licences will also be electronically blocked if the owner is unwilling to give it up.
The department has warned drivers they will be dealt with legally and deported from Kuwait for breaking the law should they continue to use their cars after their driving privileges have been revoked.