As part of labour law reforms and organizing the labour market in the State of Qatar, the Ministry of Labor has announced the launch of a fast track service for new electronic labor requests which will enable companies to quickly obtain, within a few minutes, approvals of visas to bring in workers from abroad following specified criteria and requirements.
Qatar attracts expatriates from all over the world and the country’s labour market is a hugely popular destination for expats and in order to organize the market, the government has implemented a series of legal reforms through issuing several laws and regulations including laws for entry, exit and residential permit, wage protection, right to movement where workers no longer need exit permits to leave the country or change employment freely, without requiring No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from their previous employer and also introduced a non-discriminatory minimum wage.
In order to protect the rights of the workers and protect them form exploitation in their country of origin and ensure the authenticity of the recruitment process, the State of Qatar established 20 Qatar Visa Centres (QVCs) in some 10 countries to expedite the recruitment process and ensure workers do not get exploited in their home countries. The government also established a Workers’ Support and Insurance Fund which will ensure and provide care for workers, guarantee their rights and provide a healthy and safe working environment.
The Ministry also developed the procedures for requesting the recruitment of labor for the private sector introducing smart electronic services, improved the system of electronic services in the labor sector, and contributed to facilitating and speeding up the completion of services provided to its clients.
The new fast track service introduced by the Ministry aims to support companies committed to the provisions of the Labor Law to establish and expand activities for new and existing companies in Qatar. To benefit from the service, existing companies and newly established companies need to submit an application containing the details of the required labor that is compatible with the activity and size of the facility and its natural growth, according to determinants and criteria based on rates of increase in employment in similar establishments.
Companies are required to use a smart card to verify the identity of the facility to officially access the service through the national authentication system. The reforms of labor market and relevant services will continue in line with the latest development, therefore the Ministry confirmed its endeavor to launch a comprehensive electronic system for all the services it provides during the coming period.
