Kuwait Times, Thursday, Aug 27, 2020 | Muharram 8, 1442
Expat workers over 60 without degrees can stay till year’s end
Kuwait:
The Public Authority for Manpower has decided to limit the renewal of
work permits of expats aged 60 and above till the end of this year, except for
those who hold university degrees. In this regard, informed sources told Al-Rai
that Manpower Authority Director Ahmad Al-Moussa issued a decision limiting the
renewal of work permits for expats aged 60 and above who only hold high school
certificates or lesser qualifications till the end of this year.
The directive also allowed only a one-year renewal for expats aged 59 and 60
until Jan 1, 2021 in order to give those included in the decision to prepare to
depart by the end of 2020, a date after which all 60-plus expats in Kuwait will
only be of holders of university degrees.
In the meantime, the manpower authority allowed residents born in Kuwait to
transfer their residency visas from the government to the private sector, so the
number of exempt categories that can transfer from the public to the private
sector is now four, Al-Qabas reported.
The authority had issued a decision on Sunday banning the transfer of government
workers to the private sector, which exempts Kuwaiti women’s husbands and
children, wives of Kuwaitis, Palestinians with travel documents and those in
specialized technical professions in the health field who are transferring to
licensed facilities to provide medical services, such as doctors, nurses and
others in the medical field.
Under the decision, transferring employees from the private sector to the
government should comply with procedures followed by the manpower authority and
the Civil Service Commission. The authority also said only certain categories of
expats are allowed to transfer dependent visas to work in the private sector,
including husbands and children of Kuwaiti women, those born in Kuwait,
Palestinians with travel documents and those having at least a diploma after the
secondary stage from Kuwaiti educational establishments.
Meanwhile, statistics revealed that 272,000 non-Kuwaitis were born in Kuwait
between 2009 and 2019. Statistics of the marketplace showed 20,072 new residency
permits were issued during 2019, with only 1,186 to women, while 2018 saw 20,000
work permits issued. Meanwhile, entry of domestic helpers was the highest during
the past two years at 52,006, 62 percent of whom were females.
These decision is part of a series of measures the government has taken or is
expected to take to address the country’s demographic imbalance issue, as
Kuwait’s citizens-to-expatriates ratio currently stands at approximately 30 to
70 percent.