The Public Authority for Manpower has designated June 30 as the final day for submitting applications to transfer expatriate workers out of restricted sectors under Ministerial Decision No. 2/2026 with the window closing on Tuesday. The temporary measure which opened on May 1 requires explicit approval from the original sponsor before any transfer can be processed through the As’hal portal. Officials said the policy addresses recruitment difficulties stemming from regional conditions while upholding worker protections and labor market stability.
The decision covers workers in small and medium enterprises along with those in industry agriculture livestock and fishing all of which had previously barred outbound transfers after overseas recruitment for those fields. Kuwait Times reported that First Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah who chairs the Public Authority for Manpower issued the resolution to strike a balance between labor market requirements and overall stability. The authority recorded 676 qualifying applications on the opening day of May 1 reflecting immediate demand for the exception.
Prospective employers must initiate requests electronically via the As’hal system yet the authority will only review them once the current sponsor has formally consented. PAM guidelines state that complaints tied to a sponsor’s refusal to approve transfers will not be entertained during this period. This stipulation according to the authority’s announcement helps prevent arbitrary workforce shifts and supports continuity in sectors vital to the national economy.
The ministerial decision was published in the Official Gazette directing all concerned bodies to implement its provisions through the end of June. Public Authority for Manpower statements have framed the initiative as a short-term response to ongoing challenges in sourcing expatriate labor for designated activities. Central Statistical Bureau data places non-Kuwaitis at more than two-thirds of Kuwait’s private sector workforce underscoring the scale of manpower redistribution involved.
Kuwait’s labor regulations under Law No. 6/2010 as amended have long imposed mobility limits on certain expatriate categories to safeguard strategic sectors. The current window aligns with that framework by maintaining sponsor approval as a core condition rather than introducing unrestricted transfers. Employers with pending cases are advised to complete submissions promptly to comply with the approaching cutoff.
The Public Authority for Manpower has reiterated in its updates that the exception applies exclusively to workers originally recruited from abroad for the listed restricted sectors. No extensions beyond June 30 are contemplated under this resolution. This concluding phase of the transfer period arrives as businesses assess staffing needs ahead of the policy’s expiration.
