A special counter has been opened at Lulu Hypermarket to encourage expats to register their contact details with the LMRA.  The counter located at the hypermarket in Sanabis allows people to fill out the Labour Market Regulatory Authority’s (LMRA) Foreign Workers Details Card.

 A similar counter is to be opened at Lulu Hypermarket’s Riffa branch in the coming days.

This initiative is being taken following a request by the Coordination Committee of Indian Associations (CCIA). The new counters will make it easier for expats to fill out the cards and provide LMRA with their contact numbers, allowing the authority to contact them if any cases are registered against them or the LMRA is notified of any irregularities.

There have been several cases of ‘free visa’ workers being declared as runaways by their sponsors without their knowledge. Such workers are often shocked to find out that they have been reported as absconding from their work and often state that they meet their sponsor regularly to pay the LMRA’s expat worker fees.

 The LMRA has been working to make it easier for expats to enquire about their residency status by introducing new online facilities, as well as a mobile phone service that allows one to check one’s status through SMS.