Manama: Kuwait decided to impose restrictions on transferring dependent visas to work visas in the private sector and banned transferring government workers to the private sector, local media reported on Tuesday.
Director General of the Public Authority for Manpower, Ahmed Al Moussa, announced the decision in accordance with the recommendation of Minister of Social and Economic Affairs, Maryam Al Aqeel, report said.
The transfer restriction of dependent visa to work visa exempts husbands and children of Kuwaiti women, those born in Kuwait, Palestinians with travel documents and those that have a secondary degree diploma from a Kuwaiti educational establishment.
And the transfer ban of government workers to the private sector exempts Kuwaiti women’s husbands and children, wives of Kuwaitis, Palestinians with travel documents and those in specialized technical professions, like doctors, nurses and other technical fields, report added.
The new restriction comes as authorities in Kuwaiti continue to implement various rules aimed at reducing the number of expats in the country. On Saturday, the country’s parliament drafted a bill to limit the number of expat workers as well as to ban certain types of visa transfers.
Last week, the government announced that it would dismiss 50 percent of expats working in the public sector. According to a report, there are 120,000 expats working in the public sector until December 2019. As part of a Kuwaitisation or localization of jobs around 50,000 expats in the public sectors were laid off in 2018.
Authorities also announced recently that work permits for expats aged over 60 without a university degree will no longer be issued.
The new rules were perceived as part of the overall government plan to cut the number of expats in the country.
Currently there are three types of residency visas in Kuwait; work visa, domestic visa and dependent visa. The dependent visa allows expats residing in Kuwait to sponsor their family members.
Earlier, it was possible for an expat to switch their residency from a dependent visa to a work visa subject to conditions; the applicant must stay under the dependent visa for a minimum of one year before applying for a work visa.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday that it will extend the resident and visit visa for a period of three months starting from September 1. It will be applicable to those who are inside the country without paying any fee. The Ministry also said that the visas will automatically be renewed and no need to apply in the residency affairs departments.
