Oman’s Ministry of Labour announced that expat workers and their employers will be exempt from all fees and fines related to work permits if workers leave the Sultanate permanently between 15 November and 31 December.

Oman announced on 15 October that it will not allow expats whose work permits expired while they were stuck abroad from returning to the Sultanate.

Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Passports announced on Friday that it will automatically extend the validity of final-exit visas for expatriates in the Kingdom until 31 October 2020 free of charge.

Bahrain’s Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs announced yesterday that it will renew a three-month extension of all visit visas for expatriates automatically and free of charge until 21 January 2021.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have resumed issuing visas for domestic workers after many months of suspension.

Oman’s Ministry of Labour announced a slew of decisions relating to expat workers, in a bid to ease the stress on the private sector.

Bahrain announced today that it will resume issuing work permits for domestic workers starting from 14 September, after several months of interruption due to COVID-19 pandemic. 

New laws providing greater mobility to migrant workers were published in Qatar’s Official Gazette yesterday.

We explain some of the concerns regarding implementation, and inadequacy of housing and food allowances.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced on September 4th that the Saudi government has officially appointed the Kingdom’s first-ever labour attaché to the Philippines.

Expired visit visas and residency permits will be renewed automatically for those in Kuwait, for three months starting from 1 September 2020. This is the third such extension by Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior.

Saudi Arabia recently issued decisions to localise some private-sector jobs and activities and established a Ministerial Committee to improve enforcement of Saudisation policies. 

Kuwait’s Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) issued administrative decision no. 520 of 2020 on Sunday 16 August that will prohibit issuing or renewing work permits for migrants aged 60 and above who hold high school diplomas or below.

A platform to facilitate local recruitment has been launched by the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This platform will allow businesses to register their redundant staff and to recruit for job openings they may have.

According to a recent Al Qabas report, Kuwait’s General Directorate of Residency will no longer allow for children’s iqamas to be transferred to their mother’s sponsorship.

Bahrain’s Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) announced that it will resume issuing work permits for workers who are abroad from 9 August 2020 onwards. The LMRA also announced that it will require businesses to announce their job vacancies in local newspapers for a period of two weeks before issuing work permits to workers abroad. 

This latest advisory is a cause for concern. UAE has ‘urged’ employers “to ask their maids and household helpers to avoid meeting friends outside of the home this Eid.” However, for the employers, visits are “limited to first and second-degree relatives.”