KUWAIT CITY, June 18: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor has issued a decision allowing expatriates working in the private sector and holding Article 18 visa to transfer their residence irrespective of their qualifications and the time spent with the second sponsor or sponsors after that provided they get a release, Al-Shahid daily quoted reliable sources as saying.
The decision is not applicable to those who are under the residence of their first sponsor.
As per the previous decision, expatriates holding bachelors’ degrees had to spend one year with their first sponsor while laborers and unqualified ones had to spend two years before they were eligible for transfer, with a release. But if they had transferred once locally, unqualified workers could transfer after spending one year with the new sponsor, while graduates could transfer earlier with a release.
The new directive is aimed at strengthening the position of expatriates at offices where they work, in addition to easing the residency transfer process, note sources.
Sources added that the decision allowing expatriates transfer their residence without the sponsor’s approval after three continuous years of work is still valid.