Can new visa schemes boost recovery in the face of Gulf COVID-19?

Amid an attempt to spur a post-coronavirus economic rebound, several Gulf countries have introduced new immigration measures to help attract skilled foreign workers.

One of the main players on this front has been the UAE, which is in the process of launching 50 new projects and initiatives to boost diversification efforts.

The first tranche of 13 initiatives was announced in early September. Alongside measures that will expand the UAE's technology sector, for example the launch of a Fourth Industrial Revolution Network and plans to train new coders, two new visas were included.

The first is the green visa, which will be open to highly skilled professionals, as well as investors, entrepreneurs and students. The second is a self-employed visa, the first to be offered by the UAE.

These visas are intended in part to address a problem that was highlighted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Foreign workers are a cornerstone of the UAE's economy and make up almost 90 per cent of its total population. However, visas have traditionally been tied to a specific employment contract, giving workers a grace period of only 30 days once the contract has expired or been cancelled.

This meant that almost 10% of the population left the country during the height of the pandemic, an exodus that had a significant impact on the overall economy.

In contrast, the green visa allows workers to stay in the country for up to 180 days after losing or leaving a job, giving them time to find another. In addition, green visa holders will be able to sponsor their parents and other family members to join them.

These features will increase a worker's sense of security and stability, encouraging them to settle in the country, rather than simply completing a contract.

Meanwhile, the self-employed visa aims to attract younger workers who are more accustomed to flexible and non-traditional approaches to work, approaches that the previous visa regime had fought against.

In this sense, this visa represents an attempt to attract the new generation of 'digital nomads' who have emerged from the pandemic, and who are currently being courted by a range of emerging markets, as detailed by OBG. These workers also bring with them the skills needed to drive the development of the UAE's technology sector.

These new visa offers are the result of several related developments. A new five-year renewable retirement visa was announced in August 2020, while in December the eligibility criteria for the coveted Golden Visa was expanded to include PhDs, engineers, investors and graduates of accredited universities.

Meanwhile, in late 2020 Abu Dhabi launched its own two-year renewable self-employed licence, available to citizens, residents and non-residents alike.

Tellingly, one of the target groups for this licence is skilled people who have lost their jobs but want to stay in the UAE.

While the UAE has taken the lion's share of the action to attract foreign workers, some of its neighbours have also taken steps to attract skilled expatriates, without losing sight of the need to train a new generation of national workers.

In Saudi Arabia, for example, Saudisation efforts have intensified, but the authorities have also been working to ensure that the Kingdom is seen as an attractive destination for highly skilled foreigners.

To this end, the government recently introduced a temporary work visit visa, while its immigration sponsorship system has been modified, among other expatriate-friendly changes, foreign workers will now be able to move between employers in the private sector.

A similar change came into effect in Oman in January this year, while in May the Omani Ministry of Labour announced that foreign workers can now enter the country on a visitor's visa and then convert it to a work visa.

Oman has also announced a new visa, called the Investment Residency Programme. This will provide renewable five- and ten-year residency visas to foreign investors contributing to key sectors such as tourism, real estate, education, health, and information and technology.

However, other countries in the region have taken an opposite course, reducing the flexibility of their respective immigration regimes in order to increase employment opportunities for nationals.

In Kuwait, foreign nationals over the age of 60 who do not have a university degree can no longer renew their residence permits, while expatriate family members, as well as foreign spouses of Kuwaiti nationals, among others, have had the duration of their renewable residence permits reduced from two years to one.

This variety of approaches reflects different views on how best to maintain a balance between creating employment opportunities for nationals and bringing in the best foreign talent.

The region's economies are stepping up diversification efforts, and the COVID-19 pandemic is only the most recent global crisis to underline the dangers of overdependence on hydrocarbons.

Diversification requires rapid upgrading of local workers' skills, as well as the development of local innovation ecosystems. In parallel, however, foreign expertise in a variety of sectors is needed to ensure optimised growth.

"For Saudi Arabia and its neighbours, the adoption of more restrictive or open visa rules is the result of carefully balancing objectives regarding nationalisation of the workforce with objectives related to attracting foreign talent," Abdulrahman bin Sulaiman Almohaimid, CEO of Abdal Human Resources, told OBG.