Kuwait to officially scrap ban on expats above 60 soon

Kuwaiti authorities are expected to announce this week scrapping a controversial ban on employing expatriates above 60 who hold no university degrees, according to a local newspaper.

The Kuwaiti Legal Advice and Legislation Department invalidated the ban earlier this month, saying it had no legal basis.

The ban was seen as an attempt to reduce numbers of migrant workers who account for majority of Kuwait’s population.

Around 4,013 such expatriates have been forced out of the work market in Kuwait in the first six months of enforcing the decision, Al Qabas newspaper reported recently.

The ban, which went into effect earlier this year, triggered an outcry among rights activists, who argued that it destabilised the labour market, robbing it of experienced workers.

The department, a Cabinet affiliate, added that the ban had been issued by the PAM director-general without authorisation, Al Rai reported.

The board of the Public Authority of Manpower (PAM) is anticipated to meet on Wednesday under chairmanship of Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Al Salman on the issue.

The PAM board is likely to approve revoking the decision banning those expatriates from renewing their work permits, the paper said, citing what it termed as well-informed sources.

The sources referred to “signs of understanding” among the board members to annul the ban at their upcoming meeting and issuing directives to the competent agencies to reinstate pre-ban regulations in renewing work permits for this category of foreign workers.

The paper, citing the sources, said one new proposal up for discussion is to levy KD250 and health insurance as prerequisites for renewal. There was no immediate comment from authorities.