PIP: A Ministerial Resolution passed in 1989 in Kuwait amended private sector recruitment regulations to encourage the employment of Kuwaiti and other Gulf nationals. The resolution gave local labor authorities the responsibility of issuing work permits. Foreign workers can gain a work permit is 1) no Kuwaiti or Gulf nationals are available, 2) the recruitment can be justified, and 3) the foreign worker's skills conform with the business activity and needs of the enterprise seeking the permit. Workers hired without a permit will be deported at the employer's expense, and the employer will be banned from receiving any other work permits for up to 6 months. In addition, permit holders can only work for the employer who acquired the permit on their behalf. Self-employed foreign workers will receive a permit when they are associated with a local company and receive a license to work on an independent basis. Aliens who have been practicing an activity for at least 10 years, however, and are over age 30 and have recognized domicile will be issued a 3-year renewable permit. Work permits are not transferrable to another employer for 3 years from the date of issue. Government contractors, however, will receive permits for the entire duration of a project, after which time the foreign workers will be repatriated unless they are transferred to another employer working on a similar government project. The Ministry of Labour may reject an application for a work permit, its renewal, or transfer and may cancel a work permit at any time. Repatriation costs are normally paid by the employer, unless the termination was initiated on disciplinary grounds or for failure to comply with contract terms or labor regulations. In these cases, the workers will pay their own repatriation costs.