KUWAIT CITY, Aug 30: Kuwait on Saturday granted illegal foreign residents a six-week amnesty to legalise their status or leave the oil-rich emirate without paying a fine.

In a decree cited by the official KUNA news agency, Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Khaled al-Sabah said the amnesty begins on September 1 and expires on October 15.

Expatriates who choose to leave during that period will not pay fines and will be allowed to return, the decree said.

Tens of thousands of foreigners are expected to take advantage of the amnesty.—AFP