Gov’t to Impose 3-year Ban on Transfer of Residence for Incoming Expats

The Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) is studying the decision to ban visa transfers to other employers for expats who have been hired from outside the country to work in the private sector before three years from the issuance of the first work permit has lapsed, according to a report by the Kuwait Times.

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The said rule has already been observed for many years, particularly by small and medium project companies, and this will greatly address visa trafficking in the country.

Gov’t to Ban Transfer of Residence for New Expats to Address Visa Trafficking

At present, visa transfers are allowed after a year from entry or six months with an additional KD 300 fee. This setup will be observed until such time that the new decision has been finalized and implemented as per the government.

In line with the new decision, the government will also set up a new package of resolutions that will help control the local labour market and address marginal labour soon. With this new policy already in the pipeline, companies on projects are expected to greatly benefit from this.

Moreover, with a limitation set on the available jobs to be taken up by expats, particularly the new ones, more job opportunities will be directed at the local labour market, which will help even out job distribution among Kuwaitis and foreign nationals in line with the government’s goals for the next five years.

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With most jobs in the public and private sectors being regulated by the government already at this point, we can expect that the number of expats in Kuwait will remain at a steady level, if not go down altogether in the following years to come.