publish time

18/11/2020

author name Arab Times

publish time

18/11/2020

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 18: As the decision to ban the issuance of work permits for those who are 60 years of age and above for those holding a high school certificate or below comes into force at the beginning of next year, it seems the only option for thousands of residents of this category will be to transfer their work visa to family visa, reports Al-Rai daily.

Director General of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) Ahmad Al-Mousa said, “The authority is proceeding with the implementation of the decision. It has set a time period to make the administrative arrangements for the target group covered by the decision to amend their legal status, as the decision will not be applied on them until after the end of their residency in 2021.

This applies to those with work permits that will remain in effect after the implementation of the decision from January 1, 2021 until their expiry date after which they will not be renewed. However, this decision does not prevent this segment from modifying their legal status in accordance with the rest of the articles related to residency, such as residency of a partner or family visa, and others. Also, this decision does not include exceptions from the application of its provisions."

He indicated that this decision was issued after a thorough study by PAM according to the available statistics, as it targeted a specific segment of those who hold high school certificates or less, and the group that does not have any qualification.

Al-Mousa stressed that the decision does not include expatriate workers who hold a post-secondary diploma or something with higher qualifications, adding that this decision is in line with PAM’s inclination towards the classification of professions in light of the powers granted to it in this regard, as the target group of the decision works with activities and professions that are not compatible with the adoption of different skills and professions.

Decision on those aged 60 and above

Al-Mousa said, "The decision does not prevent the segment of those over 60 years of age from amending their legal status, according to the rest of the articles related to residency, such as residency of a partner or family visa, etc" .

He touched on the details, grounds and the basis of the decision, saying, “PAM issued its administrative decision No. 520/2020, amending administrative resolution No. 552/2018 for the issuance of a list of rules and procedures for granting work permits, prohibiting the issuance of work permit for those who reach the age of 60 years and above if they hold general secondary school certificate and below and the equivalent certificates. This decision shall come into effect from January 1, 2021”.

Transfer from “family” to “private”

Regarding the transfer from family visa to the private sector work visa, Al-Mousa said, “The commission issued its administrative decision No. 529/2020, amending the administrative resolution No. 842/2015 regarding the conditions for the transfer of workers from one employer to another. Its article No. 2 stipulates the prohibition of the transfer of family visa to work visa in the private sector.

This decision excluded some groups of a special nature that require them to be excluded from this prohibition. They are the following categories - spouses and children of Kuwaiti women, wives of Kuwaiti men, those who were born in Kuwait, Palestinians who hold documents, and those who hold a certificate above secondary school or higher from the educational institutions in the State of Kuwait.

This comes within the authority's prerogatives in issuing regulations related to the rules and procedures for granting permission to work, estimating labor needs, and how workers move from one employer to another, in addition to the state’s directions towards controlling and addressing the imbalance in the demographic composition and for all government agencies to take their actions - each party according to its competence - to address this defect".

Transfer from “government” to “private”

Regarding the transfer of workers from the government sector to the private sector, Al-Mousa explained, “In light of the administrative decision No. 529/2020 issued by the authority, its article 1 stipulated the prohibition of transferring workers from the government sector to the private sector, with the exception of some groups - husbands and children of Kuwaiti women, wives of Kuwaiti men, those who were born in the State of Kuwait, Palestinians who hold documents, as well as those with technical professions specialized in the health field for establishments that have licenses to practice medical activities from the Ministry of Health".

Recruitment during COVID-19 crisis

Regarding the existence of a mechanism to bring workers directly to the State of Kuwait to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on local companies, Al-Mousa said, “The current circumstances in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic have imposed on the state to take measures at all levels to protect the health situation of the country. Many decisions were issued to limit the effects of the pandemic. These measures focused mainly on the health sector, and among those measures was to stop the issuance of work permits during the current period as a result of the health conditions the country is going through".

He highlighted that the emergency committee formed by the Council of Ministers to discuss all issues related to the measures taken to combat the spread of the virus issues directives, in light of its mandate from the Council of Ministers,  to all government agencies according to their respective competences.

Four categories excluded from the ban on transfer from "family visa" to "private work visa" -
1 - Husbands and children of Kuwaiti women, and wives of Kuwaiti men
2 - Those born in the State of Kuwait
3 - Palestinians with documents
4 - Holders of educational certificate above secondary school or higher from educational institutions in Kuwait

Four categories excluded from the ban on transfer from "government visa" to "private work visa" -
1 - Husbands and children of Kuwaiti women, and wives of Kuwaiti men
2 - Those born in Kuwait
3 - Palestinians who hold documents
4 - Holders of technical professions specialized in the health field