PAM nods renewal of 60s expats visa for KD 2,000/yr
KUWAIT CITY, July 14 : Finally after about a year of give and take, the Board of Directors of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) approved the proposal to allow the renewal of work permits for expatriates aged 60 years and above, and those holding high school and below certificates at a fee of KD 2,000, concurring the scenario that was published in March.
According to informed sources, the proposal was approved during a meeting held yesterday that was headed by the Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Abdullah Al-Salman.
They said, “A decision in this regard will be issued soon, possibly after Eid Al-Adha holidays. It is expected to cover other categories, and include the requirements to be met and the value of the required health insurance”.
Meanwhile, Director of PAM Ahmad Al-Mousa announced the return of the ban imposed on the transfer of residence permits of laborers brought to work in the sectors of industrial, agricultural, grazing, fishing, cooperative societies and the free trade zone, as of Thursday, July 15.
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, Al-Mousa said, “The authority has decided to stop the implementation of the provisions of article No. 1 of administrative decision No. 142/2021, which allowed workers recruited to work in the sectors of industry, agriculture, grazing, fishing, associations, cooperative societies and the free trade zone to transfer to all activities regardless of the sector that includes these activities, subject to the approval of the employer”.
He explained that the canceled decision was temporary and had been issued to give the market sufficient flexibility in the transfer of workers during the pandemic and to give employers in all activities the opportunity to hire workers from within the labor market.
According to informed sources, some of the development plan’s projects do not specify the human cadres necessary to operate them. The only things that were specified in them are the time schedule for completion, the various stages, and the required costs. This creates an obstacle in providing operational manpower for these projects, reports Al-Qabas daily.
The sources explained that the non-specification of the necessary cadres to run the projects later can serve as an obstacle to the provision of the human cadres necessary to operate them on one hand, and to harmonize the outputs of higher education and the needs of the labor market on the other hand. As long as the independent needs of the projects remain unknown and published, it will not be possible to provide admission plans in higher education institutions suitable for these projects.
This problem is not new but has been witnessed in previous projects in the development plan. Some of the projects on the “New Kuwait” website are published without specifying the job opportunities expected for Kuwaitis after employment. Any project needs operational cadres, and it must be determined at least four years before the completion of the project in order to prepare the necessary national cadres through higher education institutions.