A new initiative is to be launched in Qatar that could see skilled expats being granted permanent residency status in the Emirate state.
Details have emerged regarding the Qatar National Development Strategy which is set to commence this year until 2016. As part of the development Qatar hope to lure more skilled workers and high-level professionals into the country. Part of this will involve giving expats who meet certain requirements the opportunity to claim residency status.
It is also thought that the Qatar Government will make an increased effort to recruit expats through specific schemes and targeting. Rules and legislations will also be relaxed, starting with a revision of the current sponsorship system.
The current sponsorship system has been the source of much derision in recent times, it basically puts the expats fate in the hands of their employers, who have full control over what they can do.
This system has come under fire from a variety of sources, including international human rights organisations and government officials.
The Qatar National Development Strategy highlights the sponsorship system as an area that is restrictive to gaining more skilled professionals.
Qatar is currently in an era of growth and change, and the government feels an increased presence of expat workers as a big necessity if the country is to develop to the peaks the government desires.