Kuwait to lose 11,450 craftsmen over the age of 60 in 2021

Kuwait City: As Kuwait will stop renewing residency permits for expats over the age of 60 who hold a high school degree or less, it is estimated that a total of 11,450 crafts will be forced to leave the country, Al Qabas reported.

Majority of the craftsmen work in jobs that require heavy machinery and years of experience.

Based on statistics from the Public Authority for Civil Information, there are a total of around 225,000 expats above the age of 60 residing in Kuwait, as of January 1, 2020. Of those, 83,500 have a high school degree or less.

Expats over the age of 60 works across various sectors, with the majority, around 85,000, working in the private sector. It is unclear how many expats in the private sector hold a degree higher than a high school degree.

Other popular professions for expats over the age of 60 are factory workers (around 13,000) and sales persons (21,302).

Although there are 2.6 million expats currently residing in Kuwait, only 4 per cent of the total number of expats will be affected by the new decision which is set to go into effect as of January 1, 2021.