Driving Rules Hit Hard To Kuwait Expats

03 September 2015 Driving License

Kuwait’s strict rules to qualify for a driver’s licence are hitting expat wives hard as the school year returns, local media have reported.The Gulf state has in 2013 issued tight controls on who can legally drive as a mechanism to deal with its serious traffic congestion. No major new roads have been built in Kuwait City for years despite the population swelling considerably.Expats now must be employed in certain roles and meet strict salary conditions to qualify for a driver’s licence.

Unemployed expat wives also can only qualify if their husbands’ do, however still not all those women are granted the right to drive.Egyptian expat Marwa Salem told the English daily her right to a driver’s licence had been rescinded even after passing the exam. 

“I have four children in school. Their father goes to work early and no one can get them to school but me,” she told Kuwait Times.“I already have a driving license from Egypt, but I cannot drive here unless I have a Kuwaiti driving license.”Expats must have a minimum monthly wage of KD400 ($1,418) and a university degree to qualify to apply for a driver’s licence.

Only certain job titles also qualify, including diplomats, professional sports people, drivers, judges and members of the prosecution, some university staff, members of the media, doctors and pharmacists, engineers, teachers, social workers, researchers, Imams and sports trainers.In July last year, the General Traffic Department announced employees with multi-worded titles also would be prohibited from gaining a driver’s licence.

New measures also were taken to weed out employees’ whose job titles were misrepresented to make them qualify.Thousands of expats also have been deported from the country for driving without a licence or breaching traffic rules.

 

SOURCE: ARABIANBUSINESS.COM

: 5502

Comments Post Comment

Leave a Comment