Kuwait, Jun 13 (Reuters) - Kuwait government is working on plans to introduce residency caps on expatriates to slash their number in the country to 45 percent of the total population, local daily Gulf News reported on Sunday.

“The government will suggest imposing a cap of six years on unskilled labourers, eight years on semi-skilled employees, ten years on semi-skilled employees who are with their families and 12 years on skilled employees. Foreigners with rare expertise will be given an open stay," Annahar daily quoted a source as saying, the report said.

According to 2010 estimates, the number of foreign workers in Kuwait stand at 2,340,000 and make up 69 percent of the population, the report said.

A source cited by the Annahar daily said the government is interested in proceeding with the residency cap plans after the World Bank ranked Kuwait as having the fourth highest rate of foreigners compared to the nationals, the Gulf News report said.

The proposal to restrict the number of expatriates will be submitted by a committee made up of representatives of various ministries.

Saudi Arabia last month said it will not renew the work permits of foreign workers who have spent six years in the country as part of its plan to create jobs for nationals.

However, it did not say when the decision would be implemented or whether it would be applied to all foreign workers or to specific jobs.