Expats that have spent more than 20 years in Kuwait will be able to transfer their visas to a new system under plans mooted by officials.
Kuwait’s labour authority is considering ways of converting expats’ visas within a two-month period, a result of the recent scrapping of the Gulf state’s controversial sponsor system for foreign workers.
last year, Kuwait abolished its sponsorship system for foreign workers and handed sole responsibility to the new Labour Public Authority.
It had been argued that the sponsorship system – of which there are similar ones across the GCC – had too many loopholes that led to visa trafficking and allegations of fraud.
Now, the authority suspends companies with the outdated ‘code 71’ sponsorship status and is working to protect them from abusive employers.
Badriya Al Mukaimi, deputy director-general of the Manpower Public Authority said that it is mulling new rules to allow those who have spent more than 20 years in the country to transfer even after the two-month period expires.
She added that strict action would be taken against violators of the new labour laws.