No work permit nor renewal of residence for expats in Kuwait over 60 years old

KUWAIT CITY - As a measure to resolve the issue of population imbalance and the need to regulate the labor market, Ministry of Interior with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Public Authority for Manpower have issued a series of decisions and physical procedures to reduce the number of residency law violators, and unskilled and marginal workers.

A source was quoted as saying that government has restructured the procedure of hiring workers with new rules and regulations to be issued by the Public Authority for Manpower soon. He said the new regulation will prohibit hiring of workers who are above 60 years old and not 65 as observed in the past. It also includes stopping the renewal of work permit for expatriate workers after age 60. He revealed the new regulation will exempt certain rare and important professions.

However, those exempted must stick to their specialties. He stated “it is illogical to hire a domestic worker or driver who is above 60 years old, so the new procedure will control this process to improve the quality of workers and ability to carry out their duties, while reducing the number of expatriates who are 60 years old and above to restructure the population imbalance.”

Meanwhile, Ministry of Interior is said to be coordinating with several government agencies to control the issuance of work permits to unskilled workers due to reports cautioning that marginal workers quickly transform to security risks and putting pressure on public services.

They added the ministry is determined to deport residency law violators and persons wanted for criminal offenses who are caught during security campaigns.

They revealed the ministry has come out with several recommendations to solve the problem, which includes reduction in the rate of work permits issued to Egyptians, Syrians and Pakistanis to the barest minimum, indicating it will be restricted to government contracts, highly qualified people and technical specialties.

The fees for hiring of workers and health insurance will be increased as well, while workers will be mandated to undergo medical tests before entering the country. They affirmed that a decision will be issued soon to limit family visits to spouses and children only for one month, and it’s not renewable.