MP Safa Al-Hashem filed a parliamentary proposal to resolve the problem of traffic jams in Kuwait by imposing exorbitant fees on expats when issuing driving licenses, renewing them and registering vehicles in theirnames, in addition to restrictions on renewing the registration of expats’ vehicles older than 10 years.

According to local media report, the proposal, addressed to the speaker of the Assembly, said, “In coordination with the government’s plan to expand and develop road grids and in view of the current traffic congestions resulting from ongoing construction on various roads, I propose the following:

• Collecting KD 1,000 to issue a driving license to expats.

• Collecting an annual fee of KD 500 for renewing these licenses.

• Collecting a fee of KD 500 and multiples thereof from expats owning more than one vehicle.

• Automatically linking expats’ driving licenses to their work permits to prevent forgery and exemptions - the license validity is annulled in case of not meeting any of the issuance conditions.

• Banning the renewal of expats’ vehicle registrations if the car is more than 10 years old.”

Earlier on several occasion MP Safa Al-Hashem continued her anti-expatriate proposals by demanding a 10-year cap on the stay of foreigners in the country and a ban on dependent visas, except for parents. Earlier she has already proposed taxing expatriates and imposing a five-percent fee on their money transfers.