Expats over age 60 with no degree have until year's end to leave Kuwait

Expats in Kuwait over the age of 60 without a degree have until the end of the year to leave the country, newspaper Kuwait Times reported. This follows the news that Kuwait would stop issuing work permits for expats aged over 60 without a university degree, and will not extend any residencies and visas beyond August 31.

Work permits for over 60s without a university degree will no longer be issued from January 1, 2021 and applies to all those who hold a higher secondary certificate or lower, the report said.

The new rules are likely part of a government plan to cut the overall number of expats in the country by as much as 360,000 workers. According to this plan, 150,000 of these will be expats aged over 60, the Times added.

On Sunday, Kuwait authorities issued a decision to ban the transfer of government workers to the private sector. 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 are exempted from the decision.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Previously, Kuwait’s interior ministry had also been allowing expats both within and outside the country to renew their residencies online and remain outside Kuwait for up to 12 months, instead of the normal six months, without residencies being cancelled. However, this facility will now expire on August 31.

Read more:

Kuwait to reduce expats with new residency law within months: Officials

Kuwait nears deal to drastically cut expat numbers by hundreds of thousands: Report

Kuwait panel vows to find plan to cut expat numbers, criticizes government inaction

Authorities in Kuwait have been proceeding with legislation to cut the number of expats in the country.

In July, a panel vowed to find a plan to cut expats after criticism was leveled at the government for failing to come up with its own solution to reduce expat numbers.

Expats currently form around 70 percent of the population of the country.

Al Arabiya English’s Matthew Amlôt contributed to this report.