JEDDAH, 17 December 2005 — The proposal to restrict the stay of expatriates to six years was adopted by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) labor ministers following the directives of GCC leaders to offset the effect of foreign workers on the demographic structure of the member states, Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said.
“This is not a unilateral measure taken by Saudi Arabia, nor did it emerge from its Ministry of Labor, but rather it came from within the framework of a joint measure to organize the labor market in the Gulf Cooperation Council states,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the minister as saying.
According to informed sources, GCC leaders will discuss the issue at the Abu Dhabi summit, which begins tomorrow. The move comes in the wake of growing pressure from international organizations to allow expatriates to settle down in GCC countries and to give them equal rights.
“The GCC labor ministers have agreed on the principles and measures to be taken for tackling the effect of the foreign workers on the demography and handed their proposals to the ministerial council to present them to the summit,” Gosaibi said, adding that the proposal calls for putting a six-year limit on the stay of foreigners in the GCC states.
The Saudi minister, however, pointed out that expatriates having scientific and professional qualifications would be exempt from the rule.
He said the measure would come into effect pending approval by the GCC member countries.
Gosaibi said the proposal was made in anticipation of international pressure to naturalize expatriates who have been living in the region for extended periods of time. GCC countries fear that naturalization would have economic, social, demographic, political and security consequences.
There are nearly 12 million expatriates in the six GCC states and their number is increasing at the rate of five percent annually. The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
