Qatar to eliminate exit permits for foreign workers

OVERSEAS Filipino Workers (OFWs) will no longer need exit clearance to leave Qatar after the government there amended its labor code, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said.
The ILO reported on Tuesday that Qatar’s Law No. 13 of 2018 guarantees migrant workers the fundamental right to leave the country.
The new legislation, which amends provisions of Law No. 21 of 2015 and Law No. 1 of 2017, will ensure migrant workers “will be able to leave Qatar without having to obtain such a permit,” the ILO said.
ILO added, “a Ministerial Decree will follow outlining rules and procedures allowing the exit of workers who fall outside the Labor Code.”
The law was issued on Tuesday by Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Qatari Amir.
ILO reported that the new law may also allow employers to “submit for approval to the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs the names of workers for whom a ‘no objection certificate’ would still be required, with justification based on the nature of their work.”
In April, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported in its 2017 Survey on Overseas Filipinos that 5.5% of the 2.3 million OFWs work in Qatar. — Gillian M. Cortez