KUWAIT: The Public Authority of Manpower announced on Wednesday that all restrictions imposed on expats aged over 60 years have been scrapped and they will now pay regular fees to obtain work permits and renew their residencies. Expatriates aged 60 years old and above without a university degree were required to pay a special fee of KD 250 annually and obtain a comprehensive health insurance policy from a private sector insurer costing at least KD 500 every year, in addition to other fees.

In total, elderly expats with low educational qualifications were required to pay around KD 900 in fees to be able to renew their residencies. Deputy PM and Interior and Defense Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah, who also heads the Public Authority of Manpower, had described those restrictions as a disgrace for Kuwait.

Now onwards, such expats are required to pay KD 70 in government health insurance and other fees every year to renew their residencies, like other expat workers. About four years ago, the government slapped a total ban on the renewal of residency for expats over 60 without a degree, and as a result, many such expats were forced to leave the country for good. The government later relaxed the ban in place of paying high fees, but many expats who could not bear the cost also had to leave for good.

In another decision, the manpower authority allowed all employers to recruit manpower from abroad after scrapping a decision that allowed only a selected number of private sector companies to recruit employees from abroad and eased the transfer of such workers to other employers. The authority said the measure will strengthen flexibility in the labor market.

A third decision allowed workers of small and medium-sized enterprises to get a transfer after only one year of service instead of three years. The transfer however is only allowed within the same sector and with the prior approval of sponsors. The decision also allows employers of small and medium companies to transfer their workers to another project or company they own immediately and without the one-year condition by paying a fee of KD 300.