The Kuwaiti authorities have decided to reinstate work visas for foreign nationals taking up temporary jobs that do not last more than a year on government contracts.
Announcing the news on its official X account, the Ministry of Interior of Kuwait said that the reopening of work visas for this category aims to increase flexibility and, at the same time, also help with the completion of short-term projects, VisaGuide.World reports.
The Ministry further reassured that work visas will reopen only for government projects that do not exceed the one-year period, suggesting that the aim is not to retain foreign talent within the country once the projects are completed.
As Arabian Business explains, Kuwait’s Public Authority for Manpower will accept applications for this type of visa and will help facilitate the entry of skilled foreign workers who need to complete temporary duties.
By applying these new rules, Kuwait wants to meet its workforce needs and help the authorities successfully complete initiatives.
Moreover, the authorities noted that the reopening of the work visa for short-term government projects is in line with the current rules that the country has in place.
This is not the only change that Kuwait has made regarding the entry of foreign workers into the country. Some other work visa changes have been made so far this year.
Kuwait Allows Foreigners Working in Domestic Sector to Transfer to Private Sector Jobs
In July of this year, Kuwait introduced new work visa rules under which foreign workers are permitted to transfer their visas from the domestic sector to the private sector.
Sharing the news, the Office of the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and Interior Sheikh Fahad Al Yousuf Al Sabah said back then that this measure was aimed at streamlining the labor mobility for foreign workers within the country.
Since July 14, 2024, government workers have been able to transfer their visas to the private sector provided that they hold approval from their current employer, have a minimum one-year residency period under their current employment, and pay the transfer fee, among others.
In addition to the above-mentioned, in June this year, Kuwait lifted the ban on entry and work visas for Filipino workers.
The country kept the ban in place for this nationality for over a year. However, following some improvements on the matter, Kuwait decided to restart permitting the employment of experienced Filipino workers who have previously been employed abroad.