Posts By Migrant Rights

Amnesty

Saudi Arabia Announces 6-Month Amnesty Period for ‘Absconding’ Domestic Workers

Health and Safety

Deportation Over Care: Kuwait’s Failing Mental Health and Suicide Response for Migrants

Kuwait

Kuwait Opens Its First Shelter for Male Migrants

Racism & Discrimination

A Brief Overview of Anti-Discrimination Regulations in Gulf Workplaces

Work Permits

Bahrain Introduces Six-Month Work Permit for Migrant Workers Residing in Bahrain

Legislation

Kuwait to Digitise Labour Complaints and Ban Companies That Violate Work Permit Regulations from Issuing New Ones

Domestic Workers

Domestic Workers: The Neglected Backbone of Gulf Households During Ramadan

Private

Kuwait Waives Permit Fees for Migrants Over 60 Without Degrees and Eases Job Transfers

Amnesty

UAE Extends its Amnesty Period Until 31 December

Legislation

Oman Requires Employers with 50+ Workers to Establish a Grievance System for Workers

Legislation

Saudi Arabia Introduces Amendments to its Labour Law

Social Protection

A Brief Overview of Saudi’s New Insurance Scheme for Migrant Workers

Domestic Workers

Saudi Arabia Requires Online Submission of Domestic Work Complaints

Racism & Discrimination

Bahrain Government Restricts Migrant Women’s Access to Public Hospitals for Childbirth in Certain Cases

Sponsorship

Bahrain Eases Penalties on Employers for Sponsorship Violations

Health and Safety

Bahrain Extends Summer Midday Work Ban to Three Months Starting Next Year

Amnesty

UAE Launches Amnesty for Migrants with Irregular Immigration Status

Recruitment

Oman Temporarily Halts Migrant Worker Permits in Select Professions for Six Months

Legislation

UAE Amends Specific Labour Law Provisions Concerning Dispute Resolution

Legislation

Oman Eases Penalties on Businesses for Labour Law Violations

Sponsorship

Saudi Arabia allows migrants on family visas to work in the health and education sectors

Sponsorship

Kuwait Drops University Degree Requirement for Family Visa Sponsorship

Workers Accommodation

Fire in Kuwait Workers' Accommodation Kills at Least 49, Injures More Than 50

Health and Safety

GCC Midday Work Ban Officially Begins but Still Fail to Protect Workers

Work Permits

Kuwait introduces changes to its work permit regulations

Domestic Workers

Saudi Arabia Extends Wage Protection System to Domestic Workers

Fishermen

Migrant fishermen targeted as Bahrain faces fish stock collapse

Domestic Workers

Saudi Arabia revises its regulations for absconding domestic workers

Health and Safety

Health insurance to be made mandatory across all Emirates of the UAE

Sponsorship

Kuwait announces a three-month amnesty for migrants with irregular status

Editorial

Domestic workers face harsher working conditions as Ramadan begins

Social Protection

Bahrain’s government will now collect contributions for migrant workers' indemnity and disburse them directly

Legislation

UAE amends labour litigation rules for disputes of AED 50,000 or less

Sponsorship

Bahrain Updates Visit and Dependent Visas to Work Permit Conversion Rules

Legislation

Saudi Arabia reduces penalties for employers’ labour law violations

Legislation

Kuwait Resumes Family Visa Applications: Minimum Salary Threshold and Qualifications Raised After Hiatus

Legislation

Bahrain proposes a series of discriminatory policies towards migrant workers

Domestic Workers

Saudi Arabia introduces mandatory contract insurance and other initiatives for domestic worker recruitment

Work Permits

Oman Suspends Visit Visa to Work Permit Conversions & Halts Visa Issuance for Bangladeshi Nationals

Legislation

Bahrain introduces amendments to its “Labour Registration Program”

UAE

Deadline for UAE's unemployment insurance registration passes

Fishermen

Two Migrant Fishermen Missing From Bahrain For Nearly A Year

Domestic Workers

A Comparison of End-of-Service Benefits For Domestic Workers In The Gulf

Health and Safety

Comparison of Health Care Coverage for Migrant Workers in the GCC

Health and Safety

Bahrain’s summer midday work ban concludes, yet the scorching heat persists

Bahrain

Bahrain detains migrant worker protesting over unpaid wages

Legislation

Oman’s New Labour Law: An Overview

UAE

UAE intensifies Emiratisation policy in the private sector

Oman

Oman implements a new Wage Protection System directive for private sector workers

Legislation

Bahrain’s Capital Trustees Board approves recommendations for a unified debt collection system for migrants

Domestic Workers

Bahrain to Impose Maximum Salary Ceiling for Domestic Workers

Bahrain

Bahrain to support "Labour Registration Program" workers filing civil lawsuits online

Domestic Workers

Saudi Arabia resumes recruitment of domestic workers from Ethiopia

Domestic Workers

Saudi Arabia introduces new domestic work categories in its Musaned platform

Domestic Workers

Saudi Arabia caps the cost of recruiting domestic workers of certain nationalities

Legislation

Saudi Arabia doubles exit and return visa fees for migrants

Domestic Workers

Kuwait launches new electronic service for domestic labour disputes

Kuwait

Kuwait imposes fees on medicines for migrants

Legislation

UAE to implement mandatory unemployment insurance scheme in 2023

Bahrain

Bahrain launches new Labour Registration Program to replace Flexi-Permit

Bahrain

Protesting migrant workers in Bahrain's O&G sector face abuse and threats

Wage Protection System

Bahrain implements the second stage of its Wage Protection System

Trafficking

Bahrain launches two new hotlines to report cases involving sponsors who charge migrant workers for job transfers and issues relating to human trafficking crimes

Covid-19

Bahrain includes irregular migrants in its Covid-19 vaccination drive

Covid-19

Bahrain bans issuing work permits to migrants from red-listed countries

Detention & Deportation

“I am not a business lady”

Domestic Workers

Correct terminology doesn't erase systemic injustices

Covid-19

Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for workers in certain sectors in Saudi Arabia

Wage Protection System

Bahrain yet again announces the implementation of WPS

Sponsorship

Saudi labour reforms to come into force

Sponsorship

Bahrain includes parents, adult children in dependent visas

Sponsorship

Kuwait issues a new decision to ease job transfer of migrant workers

Letters to MR

Security Solutions, Amwaj, Bahrain

Domestic Workers

“Stricter actions against absconding domestic workers”: Proposal in Bahrain’s parliament steeped in falsehoods

Domestic Workers

Cases on the rise, Ramadan round the corner: Domestic Workers’ plight of urgent concern

Letters to MR

Fundament SPC, Bahrain

Sponsorship

Kuwait extends grace period for irregular migrants

Sponsorship

Oman raises work-permit fees for migrants and bans them from several occupations in the private sector

Domestic Workers

Kuwait to resume recruitment of domestic workers on 17 January

Sponsorship

Bahrain’s parliament passes a bill to restrict labour mobility for migrants

Oman

Oman extends grace period for migrants to leave or regularize their status

Domestic Workers

Saudi launches electronic complaint service on Musaned

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia to Saudize 30% of accounting jobs

Kuwait

Kuwait to grant only one-year residency for migrants

Kuwait

Kuwait gives 1 month period to amend the status of irregular migrants

Oman

Oman announces regularisation period for expat workers

UAE

UAE extends grace period for irregular migrants until end of the year

Kuwait

Kuwait gives irregular residents until the end of November to amend their status

Oman

Oman waives work permit fines for expats leaving permanently

Bahrain

Bahrain’s unemployment benefits for migrants sparks backlash, backpedalling from Ministry

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia announces labour reforms for private-sector workers

Wage Protection System

Saudi Arabia to begin the final phase of the Wage Protection System

Bahrain

Bahrain to provide administrative assistance to expats filing labour lawsuits online

Covid-19

Bahrain renews free extension of visit visas until 21 January 2021

Oman

Oman announces series of decisions regarding expat workers

Domestic Workers

UAE and Saudi Arabia resume issuing work permits for domestic workers

Bahrain

Migrants in Bahrain face an eviction crisis amid Covid-19 pandemic

Domestic Workers

Bahrain to resume recruitment of domestic workers on Monday

Saudi Arabia appoints labor attaché to the Philippines

Kuwait

Kuwait renews free extension of migrant visas

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia expands its nationalisation plan

Health and Safety

Born into uncertainty: Pandemic aggravates the woes of migrant mothers and their newborns

Kuwait

Kuwait to stop issuing work permits for expats aged over 60 without a degree

Kuwait

Kuwait bans transferring children’s residency permits to their migrant mothers

Bahrain

Bahrain to resume issuing work permits for workers who are abroad

Wage Protection System

Saudi Arabia resumes WPS and begins its 16th phase

Bahrain

Bahrain's Amnesty: In name and little else

Oman steps up nationalisation scheme in its private sector

Oman

Oman fines businesses that violate Covid-19 precautions

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia renews free extension of migrant visas

Kuwait

Kuwait’s Parliamentary Legislative committee approves quota bill for migrant workers

Kuwait

Kuwait drops all “absconding” cases reported during Covid-19 crisis

Domestic Workers

UAE’s compulsory mental health checks for domestic workers is an exercise in victim-blaming

Bahrain

“We Are All Going To Die Here”

Trafficking

Bahrain must not retain its Tier-1 status in TIP report

GCC

Qatar to cut wages of foreigners; Kuwait to freeze recruitment of non-nationals in the oil sector

Business & Human Rights

“Prestigious” construction company in Bahrain leaves workers in despair

Oman eases restrictions on sponsorship transfer

Covid-19

Qatar approves draft law amending some provisions of the Labour Law

Covid-19

Gulf countries ease restrictions despite high COVID-19 cases

UAE announces a full waiver on all visa fines for 3 months

Wage Protection System

Saudi Arabia begins the 15th phase of WPS

Saudi Arabia allows businesses to reduce workers wages without consent

Majority of Bahraini MPs vote for the deportation of irregular migrants

Food woes for quarantined migrants in Bahrain

COVID-19 cases rising among migrants in Bahrain

Covid-19

The COVID-19 crisis is fueling more racist discourse towards migrant workers in the Gulf

Bahrain announces amnesty for irregular migrants and cuts in Flexi-Permit fees

Bahrain

G.P Zachariades workers still unpaid and stranded in dire conditions in Bahrain

The Philippines lifts deployment ban on domestic workers to Kuwait

Bahrain

A closer look at the Flexi-Permit two years on

Kuwait bans issuing driving licences to expatriate students and nurses

Bahrain

Bahrain’s Shura Council votes against a draft law that guarantees employers to pay workers on time

Bahrain

Bahrain to launch new services to help migrant workers in distress

UAE households must now earn AED25,000 to sponsor domestic workers

Private

The Philippines implements partial ban on deployment of domestic workers to Kuwait

Trafficking

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia react to BBC’s investigation of online ‘maid trade’

Kuwait bans domestic workers from 25 countries

Oman renews its temporary ban of recruitment of migrant workers in private construction and cleaning sectors

UAE to allow domestic workers over 60 to renew their contracts

Bahrain halves the amount needed for ‘expat’ investors to self-sponsor

Bahrain

Bahrain: Bill to restrict sponsorship transfer based on faulty information

Health and Safety

Summer outdoor work bans end across the GCC, but heat stress continues

Legislation

Saudi Arabia introduces new amendments to Labour Law regulations

Kuwait

Kuwait raises the minimum salary required for migrants to sponsor their families

Kuwait to open shelter for male migrants soon

Bahrain yet again postpones the implementation of Wage-Protection System

Oman bans recruitment of migrant workers in certain private construction and cleaning sectors

Bahrain now requires migrant workers reported as “runaways” to pay for their own repatriation costs.

Bahrain

One year since launch: Has Bahrain’s Flexi-Permit lived up to its hype?

Business & Human Rights

450 workers stranded in Bahrain as construction companies default on wages

Bahrain

Slow start to Bahrain’s flexible work permit system

Bahrain

Bahrain to Introduce Self-Sponsorship System in April

GCC

Oman announces a new wage database...to make sure workers aren't earning too much