Ambassador of India

Kuwait

May 25, 2009

Dear Members of the Indian Community in Kuwait ,

The successful official visit to Kuwait from 6-8 April 2009 by the Hon’ble
Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari and Smt. Ansari, has boosted
India-Kuwait ties to a qualitatively new level and I look forward to working
with all concerned in advancing them even further.

Since arriving in Kuwait in March this year, I have been received with much
warmth and affection by the Kuwaiti leadership, officials and people. This is
a reflection of the high esteem in which India and the Indian community in
Kuwait are held here. It has made my assignment in Kuwait even more
pleasant.

The Indian community in Kuwait has acquired a solid reputation for being
disciplined, hard working, efficient, and law-abiding. Your contribution to
the development of Kuwait is widely respected. Your enterprise and talents
are contributing to the prosperity of Kuwait as well as that of yourselves and
your families.
Many of you have visited my office to welcome me to Kuwait and I thank you
once again for your good wishes. I also appreciate your enthusiastic response
in attending the community Coordination Meeting that I convened at the
Embassy last evening.

At the outset, I would like to draw your attention to two ongoing innovative
insurance schemes, one of which is comparatively new and may not have
caught your attention.

As you well know, many Indian nationals are employed in low skilled jobs in
Kuwait and new arrivals come here every month to take up jobs in the
domestic and private sectors. Such persons generally fall in the ECR
(Emigration Clearance Required) category and are required to take
emigration clearance before they leave India for jobs abroad. For their
benefit, the Government of India had introduced the Pravasi Bharatiya Bima
Yojana (PBBY) in 2003, amended in 2006 and 2008. All Indian nationals
falling in ECR Category are required to subscribe to the PBBY insurance
policy before they are granted Emigration Clearance. The insurance
premium in this regard is usually paid by the manpower recruiting agency.
Thus, all Indian nationals in ECR Category coming to Kuwait with proper
employment contracts have subscribed to the PBBY policy, valid for two or
three years, which carries attractive benefits, summarized at the end of this
letter. Many Indian workers may not be sensitized to the fact that they
have subscribed to the PBBY scheme and I thank one of the Indian
associations for drawing this aspect to my attention.

Another important scheme beneficial to Indian nationals coming to Kuwait

with proper contracts relates to those new arrivals taking up jobs in the
domestic sector, as housemaids, houseboys, cooks and drivers. I am happy
to inform that every sponsor intending to recruit an Indian national as a
domestic worker is now required to take an insurance policy in the name of
the said worker from a designated insurance company, valid for two years.
This scheme applies to those domestic workers who have arrived in Kuwait
from India after mid-February 2009. It too has attractive features,
summarized at the end of this letter.

While I am disseminating the benefits of the PBBY policy and the insurance
policy for domestic workers, among Indian nationals in the ECR Category
working in Kuwait , I seek your cooperation in also doing so.
Following the signing of a contract with the Kuwait Union of Domestic
Labour Offices, a new shelter for Indian housemaids in distress has started
functioning in Kuwait this year. The rate of resolution of grievances and
repatriation of housemaids at the new shelter has improved substantially. As
a result the number of housemaids in distress who are accommodated at the
Shelter at any given time has reduced substantially.

The Embassy will soon take further initiatives to provide information/advice

to Indian nationals on matters such as their welfare, employment,
immigration, labour disputes, etc. I will revert once this happens.

I would also like to mention the free Health Screening and Awareness Camp
for Indian workers in Kuwait that was conducted at Abassiya , Kuwait , last
month. I laud the Indian doctors, paramedics and association
representatives who volunteer their time on a holiday to guide and screen
their fellow workers in Kuwait . It is also gratifying that the Indian Doctors
Forum would continue the tradition and annually conduct 4 to 6 such free
health screening and awareness camps to benefit Indian workers in Kuwait .
I also congratulate our doctors for the "School Health Program 2009" that
they commenced last month. The health awareness seminar organized last
month by one of the Indian women’s associations was another noteworthy
development. Good health is the greatest possession a person can have and I
hope that such health-related events would firmly place the Indian
community amongst the healthiest expatriate communities in Kuwait .

We have earlier this month upgraded the affidavit forms on the Embassy
website, so that they can be filled up online. This development was
publicised through the media and it seems to have had a positive resonance.

I would now like to turn to the underlying reason for this letter - to inform
the Indian community about the new Indian Passport and Visa Service
Centres that open shortly in Kuwait .

The increase in the number of Kuwaiti and other citizens traveling to India
as a result of our expanding bilateral interaction, as well as the growing
numbers of the Indian community in Kuwait, have made it imperative that
there be a strengthened response from the Embassy of India in Kuwait. The
present Embassy premises in Kuwait were designed for an Indian community
of about 100,000; when we took over the Indian Embassy building in 1992,
the Indian community in Kuwait had already grown to about 120,000; since
then it has increased to 579,000. This has resulted in tremendous pressure
on services and space, requiring a matching enhancement in passport, visa
and consular services offered by this Embassy. The space available in the
Embassy was a complete mismatch and grossly inadequate for addressing the
situation. While some improvements in facilities were implemented, the
scale of the congestion at the Embassy consular hall arising out of a huge
number of daily visitors, was simply overwhelming.

The decision of the Government of India is to outsource passport and visa

services in locations where there is a large Indian community. In accordance
with it and in view of the concerns listed above, two Indian Passport and
Visa Service Centres will open in Kuwait on 27th May 2009 . These would be
located at Sharq and Fahaheel, at the following addresses:

- Emad Commercial Centre, Basement Floor, Ahmed Al Jaber Street,

Sharq, Kuwait City. Telephone: 22470005. Telefax: 22470006.

- Mujamma Unood, 4th floor, Office No. 25-26 Makka Street , Fahaheel ,
Kuwait . Telephone: 23912352. Telefax: 23912354.

An important concern raised by Indian community members, especially

project and household workers, has related to the submission and collection
of passports during their working hours, which meant taking half a day’s
leave and even resulted in loss of half a day’s wages in some instances. To
address this aspect, the timings of submission and delivery of travel
documents have been appreciably extended. Thus, the two Indian Passport
and Visa Service Centres will be open from 0800 hours to 1200 hours and
from 1600 hours to 2000 hours, from Sunday through Thursday [inclusive]. In
addition, the Centres would also be kept open on Saturday evenings from
1600 to 2000 hours. They will only be closed on Fridays and major public
holidays.

Again, responding to a voiced public need, both Service Centres are located
at venues that are regularly served by bus and other public transport.
Moreover, considerable free parking space is available in their vicinity. With
most offices shutting down in Kuwait by 1600 hrs, there would in fact be a
large number of vacant parking spaces available in the evening at both
locations.

The website http://www.bls-international.com provides details of both

Centers. These Centers will offer several facilitation facilities, such as an
information desk; free distribution of passport and visa application forms;
filling of forms; photocopying facility; etc. A service fee of KD 1.500 for
passport services and KD 5.000 for visa services, per application, will be
charged by M/S BLS International Visa Services, besides the standard
Passport and Visa fees of the Government of India. To address inevitable
teething issues, a consular representative of the Embassy of India, Kuwait ,
will initially be available at both locations in case of need for any
clarification by applicants.

Kindly note that applications for visas on Diplomatic/Official/ Special

passports as well as for issue of PIO/OCI cards and Emergency Certificates
will continue to be accepted directly at the Embassy of India, Kuwait . All
Affidavit/Attestation services will also continue to be provided at Embassy
of India, Kuwait . As such, there would still continue to be a large number of
visitors to the consular hall of the Embassy, but no where near the
overwhelming numbers that have been coming there in the last couple of
years.

We hope that the two new Centres will provide the community with better
and more efficient passport and visa services. I have addressed a press
conference on the subject on May 21, 2009 , to spread the word through the
media. Moreover, major employers of Indian workers in Kuwait have also
been requested to disseminate the same information amongst their Indian
employees. The change was also focused upon at the well attended
Coordination Meeting with the Indian Community that I hosted last evening.
I would request you too to publicize the functioning from 27th May 2009 of
the two Indian Passport and Visa Service Centers in Kuwait , so that more
people are made aware of the change.

I welcome your sharing this letter with other members of the Indian
community in Kuwait and thank you in advance for doing so.

With best wishes,

Ajai Malhotra
Ambassador of India
Kuwait

Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY)

 Coverage Amount (Rs.)
Death or permanent disability Rs. 10,00,000/-
If the contract is terminated by employer Actual one-way
within 12 months of taking the insurance, in economy class air
the event of the worker falling sick or is fare.
declared medically unfit
Employment Contingency – if the worker is not Actual one-way
received by employer on his arrival; if there is economy class air fare
substantive change in Employment Contract to
his/her disadvantage; or if the contract is
terminated within the period of employment
for no fault of the worker
Hospitalisation (Medical Expenses) covering Rs. 75,000/-
injuries / sickness / ailment / diseases during
the period insurance, whether in India or in
Kuwait
Hospitalization cover for family in India in the Rs. 50,000/-
event of death or permanent
Maternity medical treatment in Kuwait or in Rs. 25,000/-
India , to women workers
Legal expenses in any litigation relating to Rs. 30,000/-
employment
In case of death, transportation of the mortal Actual expenses
remains, and cost one-way airfare of one
attendant
Premium Rs. 275 for 2 year
policy; Rs. 375 for 3
year policy
 Insurance policy taken by sponsors for Domestic Workers

Coverage Amount (KD)

Death (accidental/natural) 2000
Permanent disability 2000
Partial disability As per standard scale
Medical cover in case of hospitalization on Upto KD 1000
account of accidental injuries,
sickness/ailments/diseases occurring during
the period of insurance period

Transport of mortal remains in case of death Upto KD 750

of the insured person, and air fare for one
escort
Travel expenses of incapacitated person (in Upto KD 200
case of total or partial disability)