Introduction

International travel is becoming more accessible with each passing year as new air routes launch, airlines establish new direct links, and low-cost airlines reduce flight costs. On this basis, one could be forgiven for assuming that our ability to migrate between different countries and work would also become easier, but this is not always the case. In recent years, on assessment, the challenges facing economic migrants have increased. Notable examples include Brexit, European and US immigration enforcement, increasing nationalisation policies, changes in political alliances, and conflict, all of which have, in their own way, interrupted the ability of an individual to work outside their home country.

For international companies wishing to develop their global network, navigating these migration challenges to mobilise (and then maintain) their in-country workforce will determine whether their businesses, in certain jurisdictions, will succeed or fail. Appropriate initial due diligence into any target jurisdiction’s legal and regulatory framework will be more important than ever in determining whether or not a company should invest.

Certain matters will need to be factored into any investment decision, together with an assessment of financial, commercial and reputational risk, such as:

• locally available skills or the ability to mobilise that skill set;
• any nationalisation requirements leading to restrictions on the mobilisation of certain nationalities;
• an employee’s minimum employment rights;
• the timing and cost to recruit; and
• whether local registration is required.

Once a company has identified and assigned value to the challenges and risks associated with doing business in a certain jurisdiction, that value will then need to be assessed against the rewards of doing that business to determine the business case for investment.

One region that has been an investment target for many international companies over the past four decades is the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Its constituent countries have both individually and as a whole removed barriers to entry in order to streamline corporate operations, yrt it is still seen by many as a challenging business environment. Nonetheless, international investment in the GCC remains high given the opportunities available to companies to expand into a broad range of sectors, including energy (upstream and downstream), hospitality, agricultural and shipping; the historic political stability and safety associated with doing business in the GCC have also been a consideration for many companies when making the decision to invest there. Even after the recent conflict between the US and Israel against Iran, which is of course still ongoing at the time of publishing this article, the region is showing its resilience by slowly coming to terms with its new operating environment and learning to operate within evolving constraints on land, air and sea access.

The State of Qatar is a GCC member country and, like other member countries, has managed the recent conflict by prioritising neutrality, arguably with a view to protecting its population and the long-term health of its industry for the benefit of all investors. With this in mind, this article will take a closer look at Qatar as an investment jurisdiction of choice, and highlight the various matters any international company should consider when making a business case for investment. Whilst focusing on immigration, the other elements that relate to or affect economic migration into Qatar will also be considered, such as legal registration and tax.

One important fact that cannot be underestimated and that underpins Qatar’s immigration policies and decision-making is that expatriates constitute 85–88% of the current population of Qatar, estimated at some 3 million. For this reason, understandably and in line with other countries experiencing similar demographic profiles, visa applications are likely to be closely scrutinised in terms of nationalisation, and expatriates are subject to security screening.

Whilst the information set out in this article is correct at the time of writing, it is likely to be subject to change over time, so it is important to consult with a Qatar-based adviser to verify any matters that may be key to an investment decision.

Registration in Qatar

In order to be able to mobilise employees into Qatar to work, a foreign company must first register a legal entity in Qatar in accordance with Qatar’s Foreign Investment Law (1/2019) and Commercial Companies Law (11/2015). Registration will usually be in the form of a joint venture with a Qatari shareholder, or a 100% foreign-owned limited liability company. As an exception to the requirement to register a limited liability company, in accordance with the Foreign Investment Law, foreign investors can also register a Qatar branch office if they have a contract with a government or semi-government Qatar entity. Registration can be in:

• the State of Qatar, which is regulated by the Qatar Ministry of Commerce and Industry;
• the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC);
• the Qatar Free Zone; or
• the Qatar Science and Technology Park.

There are various other options to register a legal presence in Qatar, but these are the usual routes to market.

Qatar registration will be evidenced by a Commercial Registration issued by the Qatar Ministry of Commerce and Industry, setting out, amongst other things, the names of the shareholders (or head office), authorised signatories and the activities the entity is permitted to carry out.

A foreign investor holding a valid Commercial Registration will need to lease a head office space in order to be able to trade in Qatar, and must subsequently register with the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Labour in order to mobilise expatriate individuals into, or from within, Qatar to work for the newly registered Qatar entity.

Foreign investors in Qatar pay a flat rate of 10% tax on the profits attributable to them over a certain threshold; prompt registration with the Qatar General Tax Authority once the newly registered entity’s Commercial Registration is issued will be important to avoid penalties.

Employment Contracts and Minimum Rights

Before identifying the different visa options to facilitate the mobilisation of economic migrants or expatriates into Qatar, it will be important to consider how employment is structured locally.

Where employers are registered in the State of Qatar, commonly referred to as the “State” and regulated by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the employment of their employees is governed by the Qatar Labour Law (14/2004); these employees constitute the vast majority of the workforce in Qatar and are predominantly expatriates.

With limited exceptions, an integral part of the mobilisation of an expatriate into Qatar on a Residency Permit (the most common visa issued to facilitate employment) is the execution of a standard form one-page online E-Government Employment Contract (EGov Contract), which in effect states that employment is in accordance with the minimum provisions set out in the Qatar Labour Law. The EGov Contract can only be amended to add the employee’s name, start date, probation period (if any), basic salary, allowances and the number of annual flights the employee will receive, being one each year or one every other year; it is expected that a mobilisation and repatriation flight will be provided. Notes can be added, provided they are compliant with the Qatar Labour Law.

Current minimum salaries are set at QAR1,000 (basic), together with minimum allowances of QAR500 for accommodation and QAR300 for food. Under the Qatar Labour Law, salary and allowances must be paid through the Wage Protection System (WPS) in accordance with the EGov Contract, via a Qatar to Qatar bank transfer. Payment must be made for each month of work on or before the seventh day of the following month. Non-compliance attracts significant penalties and may give rise to criminal sanctions.

Where employers are registered in the QFC, the employment of their employees is governed by the QFC Employment Regulations and regulated by the Employment Standards Office (ESO) of the QFC. No attestation of employment contracts is currently required, and salary need not be paid via the WPS.

Mobilisation in Qatar

The process by which expatriates are mobilised into Qatar is governed by the Qatar Immigration Law (21/2015), which provides for a Qatar employer to mobilise an individual into Qatar to be employed, subject to limited exceptions, by said employer alone. Unlike in other GCC jurisdictions, this law removes the reference to “sponsorship” and instead provides for a contractual employment relationship between employer and employee.

It will be important for the newly registered entity, as an employer, to consider what the employees will be doing in Qatar, where they will be working, and how long for, as part of their mobilisation strategy in order to determine which visa should be issued to which employee.

Only the most common types of visas issued are referred to below; seamen’s visas, visas to facilitate education, investor visas and/or the new premium visas are less common and have not been considered here.

Each of the visa options set out below has expiry dates and penalties associated with overstay. The employer will need to establish a framework within which to manage the issuance, renewal and cancellation of visas to avoid penalties and/or having ex-employees holding valid visas whilst outside Qatar, for instance.

Finally, from time to time it may be more difficult to mobilise certain nationalities into Qatar, or certain nationalities may require additional medical examinations or vaccinations, and/or an agency requirement may be introduced. It will again be important to consult with a Qatar-based adviser to update any matters that may be key to an investment decision.

Residency Permit

A Residency Permit (often incorrectly referred to as a QID, although QIDs are only issued to GCC nationals) is the primary mechanism through which expatriate employees are authorised to work and reside in Qatar. The key immigration steps are outlined below, and will vary depending on whether the application is made through the QFC, Qatar Free Zone or Qatar Science and Technology Park.

• Online submission of a block visa allocation application to the Ministry of Labour, specifying the required gender, nationality and job title. Approval for this initial step typically takes between five and ten working days, although timeframes may vary.
• Online work permit application to the Ministry of Interior, including the employee’s name, passport copy and education certificates where a management or professional immigration designation is being applied for. Again, approval should take between five and ten working days.
• In-country Residency Permit application, which should be completed within 30 days of the employee entering Qatar, for which the employee will need to undergo medical examinations, blood grouping, X-rays and fingerprinting, and have their EGov Contract attested, which may require seven to ten working days to complete.

Qatar Visa Centres

For the nationals of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, medicals, fingerprints and the execution of the EGov Contract must take place in one of the Qatar Visa Centre offices in the employee’s home country. The employee’s Residency Permit will be issued within two to three days of the employee entering Qatar.

Business visa/Hayya visa

Business visa/Hayya visas are single entry/exit and are currently restricted to applicants in the government and semi-government sectors or entities servicing those sectors. These visas permit the holder to represent their company or themselves, but not to work; this restriction is stated on the face of the visa.

Multi-entry visas

These are special work visas, currently restricted to the government and semi-government sectors or entities servicing those sectors. Unlike work permits, these cannot be converted to Residency Permits. The visas, once issued, are valid for 90 days and can be extended for 90 days and, in some cases, for instance in the QFC, to 12 months.

Tourist and On Arrival Visas

Tourist Visas and On Arrival Visas are usually used to visit Qatar for leisure and/or visiting purposes only. Whilst these visas are not appropriate to mobilise employees, as a matter of practice, employers do use them. If a commercial decision is taken to mobilise in this way, employers will need to consider each risk as it arises and then mitigate against it to the extent possible. For instance, individuals cannot always access government offices and locations on a tourist visa or visa on arrival.

Mobilisation Within Qatar

In-country transfer of employment

As an alternative to mobilising employees into Qatar, employers can consider mobilising employees within the country. This can be more cost and time efficient for the employer since, for example, flights into Qatar do not need to be organised or provided, and the process can usually be concluded faster than mobilising from outside Qatar.

The employment transfer process between two State employers is undertaken via the electronic system of the Ministry of Labour, which will grant its approval on the expiry of the employee’s notice period with the current employer. It then usually takes around seven days for a new EGov Contract to be attested and a new Residency Permit to be granted to the employee. The actual timeline is subject, of course, to the parties actioning each step promptly, the current employer not objecting to the employment transfer, ministry closures for public holidays, and there being no issues with the employee’s documentation; there are always exceptions. Transfers between an entity licensed in the State jurisdiction and a free zone entity might take longer and involve additional steps.

Secondment/borrowing

The ability to borrow or second an employee between Qatar-registered employers for two six-month periods is currently available. An application should be made to the Ministry of Labour, and an EGov Contract signed by the parties. There is no other formal way for an employee to hold the Residency Permit of one employer and work for another unless both employers are under “common” ownership.

Services arrangement

Manpower as an authorised activity is not permitted in Qatar like it is in some other GCC jurisdictions, and so where an employment transfer or secondment/borrowing is not available or possible for some reason, two Qatar companies may decide to enter into a services arrangement with one another, under the terms of which one company will provide services to the other in exchange for a fee; the employees providing the services will be an integral part of that provision. Whichever employer is providing the services should be authorised to do so and will remain the employer of the employees providing the services throughout the services period. It is not known how such an arrangement would be assessed by a judge should a dispute arise, and the term “manpower” is used in the market in practice, albeit unadvisedly.

Employer of record

Where an international company decides, for whatever reasons, not to register a legal entity in Qatar, it may contract with a Qatar employer of record (EOR), under the terms of which the EOR will mobilise the foreign company’s employees into Qatar and issue them with a Residency Permit or other visa. The costs of this arrangement can be high depending on how difficult it is for the EOR to obtain the required visa. Risks will include potential dual employment rights/claims, and the risk that the foreign company’s Qatar client does not accept the Residency Permit because it is issued by a third party. Key risks to mitigate include access and insurance.

Nationalisation

Whilst the Qatar Labour Law has long included nationalisation provisions, a new standalone law (Law No 12 of 2024) has now been introduced. Broadly mirroring the Qatar Labour Law minimum requirements, the 17-article law provides further detail on implementation and the penalties that may be imposed. However, key aspects remain pending, such as the specific quotas applicable to different market sectors. As a result, depending on the investment in question, Qatarisation may not yet be a material consideration or restriction to economic migration.

Notarisation

Qatar is not a signatory to the Hague Convention for Document Recognition, so all documents that need to be submitted to the various Qatari ministries and government agencies will need to be notarised, legalised and authenticated in the country in which they are issued for use in Qatar. This will include company documents, powers of attorney, and education, marriage and birth certificates. Once the documents are notarised, legalised and authenticated outside Qatar, they will need to be brought into the country, translated into Arabic by a locally certified translator and authenticated locally at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.