Kuwait officially scraps ban on hiring expats above 60

Cairo: Kuwait has officially revoked a contested ban on renewing work permits for expatriates above 60 who hold no university degree and unveiled new rules for their employment including payment of an annual fee of KD500 ($1,823), local media reported.

Last month, the Kuwaiti Legal Advice and Legislation Department invalidated the ban on employing expatriates above 60, saying it had no legal basis.

The department, a Cabinet affiliate, said that the ban had been issued by the Public Authority of Manpower (PAM) director-general without authorisation.

The PAM board met Thursday under chairmanship of Minister of Trade and Industry Abdullah Al Salman and approved revocation of the ban.

The board also endorsed a new decree allowing renewal of work permits for expatriates above 60 in return for an annual fee of KD500 and mandatory health insurance, the minister said, according to Al Rai newspaper.

Children of those expatriates will not be allowed to enroll in public schools.

Some categories of people will be exempted from paying the renewal fees, according to the official. They are children of Kuwaiti women and their husbands, holders of the Palestinian nationality, and those born in Kuwait.

No specific date has been announced for the new decree to take effect.

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