Expat workers who are 50 years and above will not be able to amend their academic qualifications on their work permits from high school degree to a university one following a decision to ban the renewal of visas for those 60 and above, and do not hold a university degree, and their equivalent certificates as of early January 2021, Al Jarida daily states.
The Labor Affairs Sector of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) gave these instructions to all labor departments in all governorates to not complete the procedures related to this.
There has been a notable increase in requests from expatriates for changing the academic qualifications in the Labor Affairs departments. They have been in the country for years but did not take the initiative to amend their academic qualifications until recently.
To ensure the decision is implemented, and to prevent the circumvention or manipulation of the process, the amendment requests for expatriates aged 50 and above will be rejected regardless if they have valid university qualification.
In a situation where certain certificates raise suspicions, official letters will be sent to the concerned authorities to check the authenticity of such certificates.
Aljarida daily reports, quoting informed sources from PAM, that the authority will soon issue new decisions regarding the transfer and renewal of work permits for those holding certificates from foreign universities, including setting a specific age for residency. However, there is an exception to the above 60 visa ban, one category of expatriates who will be allowed to renew their residency visas even if they have reached the age of 60, are expatriates who hold visas under Article No. 19.
A residency visa will be granted to an investor or a foreign partner involved in a commercial or industrial company, on the condition that the expatriate is a partner, his share in the company is not less than KD 100,000, and he is obligated to attend the last two budget-review meetings, certified by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Apart from that, no one is excluded from the decision. The sources said those with valid residency can finish the remaining period of their stay in the country, perform the finalities in the last month and leave immediately.
They indicated that the idea of transferring the parents’ residency who have exceeded 60 years to the sponsorship of their children is still under study, and no decision has been made in that regard.
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