Kuwait to revamp work permit systems, increase fees

Dubai: The Kuwaiti Cabinet has commissioned the National Manpower Authority to revamp the foreign recruitment system and increase work permit fees in efforts to eliminate unskilled workforce and illegal visa trade.

According to local media, the authority is tasked with reviewing all fees it levies for its services and deciding on the increase percentage to be added to work permit fees during the second and third quarters of 2022.

The move mainly aims to tackle the issue of illegal trade in work permits and reduce unskilled foreign workers in the Kuwait market so as to boost the national economy.

The authority has also been entrusted with setting an ambitious a plan to attract skilled foreign workforce and make the most of highly professional foreign manpower to support and develop the Kuwaiti job market.

The proposed plan must help increase the efficiency of the national manpower in the private sector by localizing skills while attracting the talented workforce in specialised positions.

The authority is also responsible to design programmes to attract and retain skilled foreign workers.

It will also conduct a study to assess the talent supply and demand in the labour market and identify education gaps in the country. The authority is required to set a five-year plan to replace foreign workers with national cadres in the private sector with a 5 per cent in 2022 to 20 per cent by the end of 2025.