KUWAIT: The Public Authority for Manpower has decided to limit the renewal of work permits of expats aged 60 and above till the end of this year, except for those who hold university degrees. In this regard, informed sources told Al-Rai that Manpower Authority Director Ahmad Al-Moussa issued a decision limiting the renewal of work permits for expats aged 60 and above who only hold high school certificates or lesser qualifications till the end of this year.

The directive also allowed only a one-year renewal for expats aged 59 and 60 until Jan 1, 2021 in order to give those included in the decision to prepare to depart by the end of 2020, a date after which all 60-plus expats in Kuwait will only be of holders of university degrees.

In the meantime, the manpower authority allowed residents born in Kuwait to transfer their residency visas from the government to the private sector, so the number of exempt categories that can transfer from the public to the private sector is now four, Al-Qabas reported.

The authority had issued a decision on Sunday banning the transfer of government workers to the private sector, which exempts Kuwaiti women's husbands and children, wives of Kuwaitis, Palestinians with travel documents and those in specialized technical professions in the health field who are transferring to licensed facilities to provide medical services, such as doctors, nurses and others in the medical field.

Under the decision, transferring employees from the private sector to the government should comply with procedures followed by the manpower authority and the Civil Service Commission. The authority also said only certain categories of expats are allowed to transfer dependent visas to work in the private sector, including husbands and children of Kuwaiti women, those born in Kuwait, Palestinians with travel documents and those having at least a diploma after the secondary stage from Kuwaiti educational establishments.

Meanwhile, statistics revealed that 272,000 non-Kuwaitis were born in Kuwait between 2009 and 2019. Statistics of the marketplace showed 20,072 new residency permits were issued during 2019, with only 1,186 to women, while 2018 saw 20,000 work permits issued. Meanwhile, entry of domestic helpers was the highest during the past two years at 52,006, 62 percent of whom were females.

These decision is part of a series of measures the government has taken or is expected to take to address the country's demographic imbalance issue, as Kuwait's citizens-to-expatriates ratio currently stands at approximately 30 to 70 percent.