Kuwait to halt visa transfer from public to private

Director General of the Public Authority for Manpower, Ahmed Al Moussa, announced a ban on transferring government workers to the private sector.

The Public Authority for Manpower has also decided to enforce restrictions on the transfer of dependent visas to work visas, for those working in the private sector.

The decision to ban transferring government employees to the private sector comes a few weeks after the government announced that it will dismiss 50 per cent of expats working in the public sector.

These decisions from Public Authority for Manpower have been recommended by the Minister of Social and Economic Affairs, Maryam Al Aqeel.

Although government sector employees are barred from transferring over to the private sector, four groups of people are exempt from the transfer ban: Kuwaiti women’s husbands and children, wives of Kuwaitis, Palestinians with travel documents and those in specialized technical professions, like doctors, nurses and other technical fields.

As for transferring private sector workers to the government, Al Moussa explained that employees should comply with procedures followed by the Public Authority for Manpower and the Civil Service Commission.