5,000 expats will have to pay fines after their residency renewal was delayed due to suspension of services at the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) to switch to the online Ashal automated system, Al Qabas daily reported. The delay in residency renewal invites a fine of KD2 per day for each worker.
Security sources told Al-Qabas daily that sponsors and expats couldn’t get their work permits renewed or access the system to automatically renew their residency permits, and consequently, around 5,000 expats are illegally residing in the country, and are in violation of the residency law, according to the data of the General Department of Residency Affairs.
PAM launched an integrated online system without manual reviews for its services on which started gradually from 12 January, while other services would be completed within days.
The authority has updated in its new system the automatic linking of academic qualifications with professions registered in the labor market, including the addition of titles and is forbidding to register a qualified expat worker in inappropriate professions and vice versa through the system.
According to the new system, the professions in the need assessment files are divided into professions, specializations and academic qualifications, which ensures it is not possible to register university qualifications for a worker in a professional position with a specialization or jobs who are holders of secondary certificates and less.
The automated system also rejects the registration or renewal of visas for worker in their professions without approval of university academic qualifications.
PAM also launched new services that include a list of registered workers, a signature approval certificate, cancellation of work permits due to expiration of residency visas while the expats are outside the country, final cancellation of work visas due to leaving or due to death, cancellation of national employment registration and registration of national labor notices through the automated system.