KUWAIT CITY, Jan 25: The Citizenship and Passports General Department at the Interior Ministry has advised citizens to check the validity of their passports; as the e-passport was issued about five years ago, so the passports of some will expire soon, reports Al-Anba daily. Citizens, who are 21 years old and above, can renew their passports through the ministry’s website and they can choose the place of delivery upon submission of the passport renewal form. On the other hand, those who are below 21 years old can renew their passports through the citizen service centers or the department.

The electronic passport is one of the huge projects launched in 2017 and it is considered the most secure throughout the world in terms of accuracy, security and the difficulty of forging the document. The passport’s data page is inside the automated chip that is protected from tampering. This is in addition to the automated thumbprint and electronic signature, while the passport holder’s photo appears clearly on three successive pages.

The National Labor Sector in the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) recently released statistics showing that about 23,000 Kuwaitis registered for jobs last year – 45.5 percent of them want jobs in the private sector, while 44.5 percent prefer to work in the government sector, reports Al-Qabas daily. The daily obtained a copy of the statistical report which revealed the number of Kuwaitis who prefer private sector jobs increased by 12 percent in 2021 compared to the figures in 2020 – a total of 4,857 Kuwaitis who constitute 21 percent of all job seekers in 2021.

According to the report, the number of job seekers who registered on the recruitment platform, not currently working, do not receive pension, and not enrolled in an educational institution reached 16,221 in January – lower by 690 compared to the number recorded in December. The number of university graduates looking for job is the highest – a total of 9,210 citizens; followed by those holding diplomas, secondary and middle school certificates, while the lowest are those with vocational qualification and parallel education – 61 citizens.