US embassy cable - 05DOHA858

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000858 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/RA, DRL, INL, G/TIP, EB 
DEPT. OF LABOR FOR DR. SUDHA HALEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, ETRD, PHUM, QA 
SUBJECT: QATAR'S SPONSORSHIP LAW 
 
REF: DOHA 687 
 
1. (U)Summary. Sponsorship rules are believed by many to be 
at the heart of labor issues and disputes in Qatar.  The 
current law requires expatriate workers to have the signed 
permission of their sponsors when changing employment or 
departing Qatar.  Critics of the law allege that it creates 
a system of servitude and leads to the abuse of foreign 
workers.  These criticisms have led to calls for changes in 
sponsorship rules. End Summary. 
 
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The Current Law's Provisions 
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2. (U) Qatari legislation addressing expatriate labor and 
sponsorship is found in Law No. 3 of 1984.  According to 
the law, persons intent on entering or residing in Qatar in 
order to work must have a sponsor.  The law stipulates that 
expatriate laborers cannot leave the country without a 
signed exit permit.  Further, according to Article 10, the 
exit permit must be signed by the sponsor or his 
representative in front of the appropriate official at the 
Emigration Department.  In the event that the sponsor or 
his representative cannot be present, the signature on the 
permit must exactly match that on record at the 
Department.  Exemptions from this requirement are allowed 
only in instances in which the sponsor refuses to sign the 
permit without an acceptable reason for doing so, or if the 
sponsor dies while outside the country without designating 
a representative.  The law further stipulates that the 
expatriate laborer cannot legally work for one person while 
sponsored by somebody else. 
 
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Practical Implications of the Sponsorship Law 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
3. (U) Given the exit permit requirements, an expatriate 
laborer must have a signed exit permit every time he wishes 
to travel out of Qatar.  Further, the laborer cannot change 
employment unless he obtains a written release from his 
sponsor.  The extent of power conferred on sponsors leaves 
expatriate laborers vulnerable to abuse. 
 
4. (U) There have been many instances of sponsors 
withholding their consent for the worker to travel or 
change employment in order to force the employee to work 
for longer periods, or to avoid having to pay salary owed 
to the worker.  Many employers also withhold the passports 
of their workers, do not get the workers' passport stamped, 
or fail to renew their work visas and residence permits. 
The workers then encounter a myriad of problems when trying 
to leave the country, often culminating in their detention 
(reftel). 
 
5. (U) Many workers wishing to change employers report that 
their salary arrears are put into jeopardy as some 
employers will refuse to pay the arrears, offering instead 
written release to change employers.  In a recent survey 
conducted by a local Arabic paper "Al Sharq," expatriate 
laborers characterized the stringent requirements in the 
sponsorship law as tantamount to slavery.  The requirements 
of the sponsorship law do deprive expatriate laborers of 
basic rights and create situations constituting forced 
labor as defined by the ILO, i.e., involuntary work exacted 
under the menace of penalty. 
 
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Visa Fees 
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6. (U) High visa fees also exacerbate and contribute to the 
sponsorship problems.  Fees for work visas and changing 
sponsorship are supposed to be the responsibility of the 
sponsors.  However, in practice, many laborers are often 
forced to pay these fees.  Further, foreigners who sponsor 
other expatriate laborers must pay a disproportionately 
higher fee than their Qatari counterpart.  The fee for a 
work visa under expatriate sponsorship is the equivalent of 
$335, as opposed to the fee for Qatari sponsorship, which 
is $60.  Sponsors have a three-month grace period within 
which to pay for the work visas, after which time there is 
a fee assessed for each day the visa is not paid.  The fees 
for changing sponsorship are as follows: approximately $420 
for the first request, $565 for the second request, and 
$700 for the third request. 
 
7. (U) Many expatriate laborers coming to work in Qatar 
encounter delays in getting the work visa within their 
first three months in country because the sponsor does not 
have employment for them.  The worker, who ends up without 
salary for months, must either work illegally (which many 
do) or leave the country.  Those who choose to stay must 
find a new sponsor.  Unless that individual is a skilled 
worker, he might have to pay the change in sponsorship and 
work visa fees as well as the late fines.  For the average 
laborer, the total amount of the fees are in excess of 
their monthly salary.  An employer seeking skilled laborers 
is more willing to settle these fees than an employer in 
search of unskilled laborers, who are in abundance in 
Qatar. 
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New Sponsorship Law 
------------------- 
8. (U) A new law is said to be coming soon that will relax 
the strict laws regulating the sponsorship of expatriate 
laborers.  The pending sponsorship law is seen as a 
response to growing resentment and criticism of the current 
sponsorship law, which many--expatriates and 
Qataris--denounce for creating a system of servitude for 
expatriate laborers. 
UNTERMEYER