Middle East
Key trends shaping the Middle East's labor and immigration landscape
Expansion of travel and residence pathways
Q3 brought several targeted changes to short-term travel, long-term residence, and immigration processes across the region.
Saudi Arabia introduced its Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) for eligible UK passport holders, permitting multiple entries and stays up to 180 days, consecutively or across multiple visits, within a one-year period for tourism, short-term study, and business purposes. The authorization does not cover employment, residence, or Hajj.
Kuwait announced eligibility rules for its recently implemented 15-year investor residency permit, allowing the long-term residence route for individuals associated with qualifying investing entities to take practical effect.
In the United Arab Emirates, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) introduced greater flexibility to its employment residence permit cancellation process. Employers may cancel the permit of an employee outside the country without waiting for the employee to complete 180 days of continuous absence, provided they confirm through a signed and stamped declaration that all applicable end-of-service benefits have been settled.
Overall, these developments expanded the criteria for short-term travel, long-term investor residence, and employee offboarding flexibility but only for defined populations, permitted activities, and jurisdictions. Access remains dependent on nationality, travel purpose, investor eligibility, immigration status, and sponsoring jurisdiction.
More targeted workforce localization requirements
In the United Arab Emirates, private health care facilities with 50 or more employees must allocate their annual 2% Emiratization target equally between specialized health care roles and other skilled positions, with compliance to be assessed beginning early 2027. Similarly, Saudi Arabia has also announced that, effective February 14, 2027, private-sector Saudi Arabian employers will be required to ensure that 70% of specific project management positions are held by Saudi nationals—an increase from the current 40% quota.
These changes affect private-sector Saudi-based businesses employing project management professionals, as well as larger UAE-based private health care facilities. Employers should review workforce composition, foreign recruitment, sponsorship transfers, and hiring plans to maintain compliance with the applicable localization targets.
Ebola outbreak now an additional factor in entry assessments
Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates introduced temporary Ebola-related visa and entry restrictions. Depending on the country, the measures affect nationals of Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda, as well as third-country nationals traveling from or through those countries. Applicable lookback periods, affected populations, and exemptions vary by country. Recent travel history may affect eligibility and could delay assignments or business travel.
Bahrain
During Q3, Bahrain introduced a requirement that dependents applying for a new residence permit must hold health insurance. Previously, health coverage was required only for main applicants. As part of pretravel assessment, employers and assignees should ensure all dependents hold valid health insurance and account for the additional costs and processing time when preparing new dependent applications.
Effective September 28, 2026, Bahrain’s Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) launched a new electronic secondment service, helping employers meet short-term staffing needs by making temporary worker transfers easier while maintaining clear rules and protections for all parties involved. Temporary employee transfers or secondments are now limited to a maximum of 90 days and require both the employee’s written consent and approval from the current and receiving employer. The receiving employer must meet or exceed the original employer’s Bahrainization rate; if its rate is lower, it must pay an additional regulatory fee of BHD 62.50, alongside the standard BHD 5 processing fee. Both employers remain jointly liable for the employee’s legal rights, safety, and contractual salary during the assignment period. The electronic system is available for corporate and commercial registrations but excludes domestic workers. Before considering secondments, employers should verify Bahrainization requirements, obtain all required approvals, and assess fees and shared liabilities.
Kuwait
In Q3, Kuwait further tightened its nationality framework following reforms introduced in April 2025. The changes removed routes to nationality based on long-term residence, good conduct, Arabic proficiency, qualifications, or services to the country. They also revised the nationality status and eligibility of children and descendants of naturalized Kuwaiti citizens and introduced additional grounds for the withdrawal or revocation of nationality. Additional grounds for revoking nationality were also introduced, with the declaration period for retaining Kuwaiti nationality at age 21 reduced from two years to one year and fines for false statements increasing from KWD 3,000 to KWD 5,000.
Separately, Kuwait also announced new eligibility rules for its recently implemented 15-year investor residency permit. Eligibility includes investment licensing and Kuwaitization requirements, a minimum investment value of KWD 5 million, and at least KWD 1 million in paid-up capital. Effective July 7, 2026, the route is now available to eligible owners, partners, directors, senior management, and specified family members, offering long-term residence to individuals associated with an investing entity in Kuwait.
On September 1, 2026, Kuwait ended the automatic extension of all visit visas, which had been in effect since February 2026. Standard visa rules, including applicable validity periods, now apply. Employers and travelers should verify visa expiration dates and take any required action before the authorized stay ends.
Kuwait also introduced temporary Ebola-related entry restrictions. Entry is prohibited for any travelers, except Kuwaiti nationals, who arrive directly from Congo, South Sudan, or Uganda or who were present in any of those countries within 21 days of traveling to Kuwait. The restriction applies to travelers arriving in or transiting through Kuwait, regardless of their immediate point of departure. Recent travel history may affect eligibility and could delay assignments or business travel.
Qatar
Qatar also introduced temporary Ebola-related entry restrictions. Entry is prohibited for any travelers, except Qatari nationals and residents, who arrive directly from Congo, South Sudan, or Uganda or who were present in any of those countries within 21 days of traveling to Qatar. Recent travel history may affect eligibility and could delay assignments or business travel.
Saudi Arabia
In Q3, Saudi Arabia expanded short-term mobility options for eligible UK nationals while retaining clear limits on permitted activities. Effective July 1, 2026, the Saudi ETA allows eligible UK nationals multiple entries and stays up to 180 days, consecutively or across multiple visits, within a one-year period for tourism, short-term study, and business purposes. UK-based businesses may benefit from greater flexibility for eligible business travel, but employers must continue to distinguish permitted visits from activities requiring work authorization.
Saudi Arabia also extended the grace period for employers to regularize affected foreign workers until December 31, 2026. The grace period applies to foreign workers whose work permits expired more than 12 months ago or who were not issued a work permit within six months of starting work. The previous deadline was June 30, 2026, after which foreign workers whose work permits were expired for more than three months were scheduled to be automatically removed from their employers’ records in the Qiwa portal. Employers should review the status of affected foreign workers and, where necessary, renew or obtain work permits before December 31, 2026. Failure to regularize a worker’s status by the deadline may result in financial penalties or an assignee’s inability to work in Saudi Arabia.
As announced on August 25, 2026, effective February 14, 2027, private-sector Saudi Arabian employers will be required to ensure that 70% of specific project management positions are held by Saudi nationals—an increase from the current 40% quota. The requirement applies to private-sector businesses with three or more employees in the roles of project management director, project management engineer, and project management specialist and is calculated at the entity level. This new rule affects both new work visas for individuals outside Saudi Arabia and sponsorship transfers involving foreign nationals already in the country.
The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) permanently closed the bank account used for social security contributions for Gulf Cooperation Council nationals. Employers can make outstanding and future payments using virtual account details or an online credit card. GOSI has emailed registered employers with their entity-specific virtual bank account numbers. Employers that did not receive the email notification can retrieve their designated virtual account number through their GOSI online account.
Saudi Arabia also temporarily suspended the issuance of all visa categories and restricted entry for travelers arriving from Congo, South Sudan, or Uganda. The entry restriction also applies to travelers arriving through a third country if they were present in any of the listed countries during the 21 days before entering Saudi Arabia. Saudi nationals are also temporarily prohibited from traveling to the listed countries. The measure may interrupt assignments and business travel when an employee or dependent has relevant recent travel history. Employers and assignees should assess recent travel history and adjust travel routes to ensure that arrival in, or transit through, Saudi Arabia complies with the temporary travel restrictions.
United Arab Emirates
During Q3, the United Arab Emirates moved toward more targeted employer accountability, with compliance requirements increasingly shaped by sector, applicant profile, and processing jurisdiction.
Enhanced background verification requirements continued to expand across mainland and free-zone jurisdictions. Police Clearance Certificates (PCCs) are now required for a broader range of immigration applications, with requirements varying according to nationality, immigration status, and processing authority. Employers should assess PCC requirements at the outset of the immigration process and allow sufficient time for document procurement and legalization where required.
In parallel, immigration authorities continue to apply enhanced scrutiny to certain applicant profiles and nationalities. Depending on nationality and application route, additional security screening, supporting documentation requirements, or extended processing timelines may apply. Employers should factor potential delays into workforce planning and assignment timelines.
Separately, the DIFC introduced greater flexibility to its employment residence permit cancellation process. Employers no longer need to wait until an employee outside the UAE has completed 180 days of continuous absence before canceling the permit, provided they submit a signed and stamped employer declaration confirming that all applicable end-of-service benefits have been settled. The revised DIFC process may help employers complete immigration formalities more efficiently and support timely employee offboarding.
Effective June 6, 2026, the UAE suspended the issuance of new visas, including visit visas, for nationals of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan. The entry restriction also applies to travelers arriving through a third country if they were present in any of the listed countries 21 days before entering the UAE. The measure may delay assignments and business travel involving employees or dependents traveling from an Ebola-affected country.
On July 7, 2026, the UAE announced that private health care facilities with 50 or more employees must allocate their mandatory annual 2% Emiratization target equally between specialized health care roles and other skilled positions. The implementation timeline remains unchanged, with 1% Emiratization growth required in each half of 2026. Facilities that met the first-half requirement should ensure that recruitment during the second half of 2026 complies with the revised allocation. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation will begin assessing compliance with the revised requirement in early 2027; noncompliant employers may be subject to financial penalties. The update aligns with the UAE’s broader Emiratization agenda and continued focus on workforce localization across the private sector.
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Ananth Prasad
Senior Manager
Ali Ibrahim
KSA and Bahrain Immigration Lead
Antoine Salloum
Qatar Immigration Lead
Nasrine Abdi
Immigration Manager, UAE