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Tribune News Network
Doha
A total of 109,804 expatriates left Qatar for annual leave or other reasons during the first two months (from December 13, 2016 to February 15, 2017) of the new entry, exit and residency law for Qatar's expatriates, according to government figures.
About 74,049 expats permanently left Qatar after notifying employers during the same period. A total of 184,338 exit permits were issued during the period.
The new statistics by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs on Law No. 21 of 2015 show that Qatar is successfully implementing the provisions that came into effect in December 2016.
Minister of Administrative Development, Labour & Social Affairs HE Dr Issa bin Saad al Jafali al Nuaimi said,"The number of exit permits issued in the first two months demonstrates that the law is being effectively enforced. Over 184,000 expats benefited in this period, which shows that we are delivering on our promises. We have repeatedly expressed our unwavering commitment to labour reform and will continue to develop new policies that generate positive, tangible outcomes for expatriates."
In the first two months of the new law, the Exit Permit Grievances Committee the body established to settle exit disputes received 761 applications.
Exit Permits were granted within 72 hours in 485 cases, 63 are currently under consideration and in 213 cases workers received an SMS indicating the reason their application was rejected. About 5,196 workers successfully changed jobs after completing their employment contract or working five years with an open-ended contract, indicating a significant increase compared to 2,288 job transfer cases in 2016 before the law came into effect.
The minister also spoke about the measures being taken to prevent the exploitation of workers in labour-exporting countries.
"Our worker welfare programme has so far focused on safeguarding the rights and freedoms of workers and improving their working and living conditions. But we are also taking a wider view of the migration cycle and addressing the issues at the source. We continue to cooperate with countries of origin, and have so far signed 36 bilateral agreements."
