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.”

Bahrain’s Labour Market Regulatory Authority recently announced that from 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020, it will suspend job transfers for migrants unless the current employer cancels the work permit and the new employer directly compensates the first employer for the fees corresponding with the remaining validity of the work permit.

Bahrain’s Nationality, Passport & Residence Affairs renews free extension of visit visas until 21 October 2020.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced that it has started implementing the 16th phase of the Wage Protection System (WPS). As of 1 August 2020, companies with 5 to 10 workers are now obligated to register with WPS.

Oman has stepped up its Omanisation policy through several ministerial decisions.

Oman enacted Ministerial Decision 186/2020 which amends some provisions regulating private sector businesses that violate the Covid-19 precautions.

Saudi Arabia has renewed an automatic extension of expired visit visas and residency permits (iqama) for foreigners both inside and outside of the country, for a period of three months without charge.

Kuwait’s Parliamentary Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee has approved a draft law proposal which would set a foreign residence quota for every nationality. The proposal will now be referred to Kuwait’s Human Resources Development Committee, which will study the proposal before referring it to the National Assembly for a vote.

According to a recent Al Qabas report, Kuwait’s Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) has annulled all “absconding” cases lodged during the Covid-19 crisis.

UAE recently issued a decision that requires domestic workers to pass a mental health check and obtain a good-conduct certificate in order to enter and work in the UAE. The new decision reflects – and perpetuates – a perception of domestic workers as inherently prone to psychological issues and violence.

In Kuwait, Oil Minister Khaled Al-Fadhel said recently that migrants will no longer be hired in Kuwait’s oil sector and that contracts with migrants will be reduced. This follows last week’s statement by Kuwaiti Prime Minister to reduce the expatriate population 70% to 30%.