Middle East
Key trends shaping the Middle East's labor and immigration landscape
Digitalization and integration of immigration processes
Across the region, governments are accelerating the digitization of immigration workflows and linking these systems with other regulatory and administrative platforms. In Kuwait, the upcoming mandatory employer-approved exit permits will be fully processed through the Sahel/Ashal platforms, allowing authorities to track employee departures in real time and reduce paperwork for sponsors. Meanwhile, the UAE has launched a new electronic visa platform, streamlining Golden Visa and employment-residence permit applications, and has tied residence permit renewals to traffic fine payments, ensuring cross-agency compliance. Even in Qatar, updates to the Metrash system simplify family-member access, illustrating a broader push to combine immigration processing with citizen services. Collectively, these digitalization efforts indicate a regional trend toward centralized, data-driven oversight, improving accuracy and efficiency while making employers more accountable for compliance at every step.
Heightened documentation, verification, and compliance requirements
Governments are increasingly enforcing stricter verification and documentation standards, placing a degree of responsibility on employers. In the UAE, MOHRE now requires mandatory degree verification for managerial and specialist roles, with fees and notifications sent to the sponsoring company. Failure to comply can lead to fines or suspension of new work permit applications. Saudi Arabia has reclassified work permits according to skill levels, demanding that employers correctly map roles and ensure eligibility before sponsorship. In Oman, selected positions now require professional licensing before foreign workers can be employed. These measures signal a broader regional emphasis on rigorous compliance, credential validation, and adherence to procedural requirements. For employers, the practical implication is clear: human resources and mobility teams must proactively track credentials, licences, and role eligibility to avoid operational or legal disruptions.
Enforcement balanced with regularisation windows
Many countries are combining stricter enforcement with temporary opportunities for regularisation, creating a dual approach to compliance management. Saudi Arabia has extended grace periods for foreign nationals with expired visas, allowing time for regularisation or voluntary departure. Kuwait resumed commercial visit visas for Pakistani nationals, reopening a controlled pathway for short-term business mobility. In Türkiye, authorities clarified deportation procedures for employees working without permits, reinforcing the consequences of non-compliance. These examples show that governments are taking a measured approach: while non-compliance is treated seriously, transitional periods or targeted relief provide employers and employees with opportunities to address irregularities without immediate penalty. This trend underscores the importance of actively monitoring employee status and coordinating with legal teams to manage risk.
Nationalization, localization, and workforce restructuring
Labor market policies across the Middle East continue to evolve in favour of nationalization and local workforce protection. Saudi Arabia’s work permit reclassification and Oman’s licensing requirements reflect a growing emphasis on aligning foreign employment with domestic workforce needs and skill strategies. Even procedural updates, such as Kuwait’s exit-permit system, have implications for workforce planning, sponsor accountability, and employee mobility, ensuring that departures and transitions are properly authorized. Across the region, these measures demonstrate a strategic effort to optimize the mix of local and foreign talent, prioritize citizen employment in key sectors, and encourage long-term workforce stability. For employers, the trend reinforces the need to anticipate changes in role eligibility, monitor regulatory developments, and adjust talent management strategies accordingly.
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Stronger verification requirements and digital integration
The UAE continues to enhance the integrity of its immigration system through greater document validation and system linkage. The MOHRE’s new degree-verification step applies to all managerial and specialist employment offers, requiring employers to confirm educational authenticity before permits are issued. Concurrently, residence permit renewals are now linked to the payment of outstanding traffic fines, effectively merging immigration status with wider administrative compliance.
Complementing these initiatives, Dubai has temporarily suspended the issuance of freelance residence permits as authorities review existing frameworks, and a new electronic visa platform has been introduced to consolidate visa processing. Additional updates to the Golden Visa program and the new advertiser-permit requirement for social media promotional activities demonstrate the UAE’s ongoing shift toward an interconnected, digitally governed labor ecosystem.
Saudi Arabia
Refined visa policies and redefined workforce classifications
Saudi Arabia has taken significant steps to align immigration policy with its long-term labor market strategy. The government extended a grace period allowing foreign nationals with expired or irregular visas to regularize their status or exit the country without penalty. This measure coincides with the lifting of earlier suspensions on certain business and visit-visa categories, restoring mobility for short-term assignments and commercial visits.
In parallel, Saudi Arabia has introduced a new classification system for work permits based on skill categories, enabling more targeted Saudisation enforcement and clearer wage-band expectations. Amendments to social-security contributions for Saudi nationals also require employers to revisit payroll structures and compliance processes. Together, these initiatives reinforce the Kingdom’s dual objectives of labor market formalization and national workforce development.
Kuwait
Digital exit permits and renewed mobility channels
Kuwait is preparing for a major procedural change with the introduction of mandatory employer-approved digital exit permits for private sector expatriate employees, which is now in effect. Through the Sahel and Ashal platforms, employees will need their sponsor’s digital approval before leaving the country. This system aims to enhance monitoring of cross-border movements and ensure employer accountability for sponsored workers. Employers will need to establish clear internal approval workflows to prevent travel delays and manage urgent travel requests efficiently.
Separately, Kuwait has resumed the issuance of commercial visit visas for Pakistani nationals, reopening a key mobility route for business visitors and signalling a gradual normalization of post-pandemic entry controls.
Qatar
Targeted health measures and streamlined family services
Qatar has introduced new medical examination requirements for arrivals from the Philippines, reflecting the country’s ongoing focus on public-health safeguards within its immigration regime. These additional checks must be completed upon entering Qatar and are intended to strengthen the country’s screening procedures for inbound workers.
At the same time, the government has simplified family members’ access to the Metrash digital platform, allowing dependents to more easily manage residency and administrative services online. The dual developments—tighter health vetting paired with enhanced service accessibility—illustrate Qatar’s commitment to maintaining a secure yet user-friendly immigration environment.
Türkiye
Heightened enforcement for unpermitted employment
Turkish authorities have reinforced their stance on unlicensed work by clarifying deportation procedures for foreign employees found without the necessary work permits. The updated framework empowers enforcement agencies to act swiftly on non-compliance while providing clearer procedural guidance. Employers operating in Türkiye must ensure that all foreign workers hold valid authorizations to avoid penalties and potential business disruption.
Oman
Selective licensing requirements and continued localization drive
Oman has maintained its focus on localization while adding new compliance layers to professional regulation. The government introduced licensing requirements for selected roles, mandating that certain occupations obtain official certification before foreign workers can be sponsored. This complements ongoing nationalization policies aimed at prioritizing Omani citizens for employment opportunities in key sectors.
The new licensing regime represents both a quality-control mechanism and a means to channel higher-skilled expatriate labor into regulated professions, aligning with Oman’s broader economic-diversification and workforce-development goals.
Want more information on Middle East's immigration policy and updates?
Reach out to our experts.
Rekha Simpson
UAE Immigration Lead
Ali Ibrahim
KSA and Bahrain Immigration Lead
Antoine Salloum
Qatar Immigration Lead
Nasrine Abdi
Immigration Manager, UAE