Current Trends in Labor Immigration in the Gulf Cooperation Council States
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.sidebar##
Abstract
The GCC states currently rank 3rd in the world in terms of the total number of migrants, whose absolute majority are labor migrants. The number of international migrants in the states of the association tripled since 2000 to 2020, from 10 million to almost 31 million people, which amounted to 11 % of the global flow. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait are among the 20 most popular countries for immigration in the world. The migration policy of these countries is determined by: absolute dependence on migrants, the widespread presence of the Kafala system (recently it has been undergoing reform), preferential employment for indigenous residents, temporary status of migrants and stay on the basis of temporary work visas, absolute dominance of indigenous residents in the public sector and in management positions of high-profit companies, the absence of prospects for obtaining citizenship or refugee status, and a strict policy towards illegal or unauthorized labor migrants. The wars in Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen and Syria have changed the migration pattern, reorienting it from other Arab states to the states of South and Southeast Asia. Among the Arab states, migrant workers from Egypt have not only maintained but also increased their presence. The India-UAE, India-Saudi Arabia, Indonesia-Saudi Arabia migration corridors are among the twenty largest migration corridors in the world. Mainly due to the religious factor and the employment of foreign workers in the so-called “3D sector”, the gender structure of the migration flow is significantly dominated by men. All ten of the world’s largest male-dominated migration corridors are directed towards the GCC countries. In the total flow of migrants to the GCC states, women make up only 28 %, 87 % of which are distributed between Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. The main flows of remittances from the region are directed to India, Egypt, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Bangladesh.
How to Cite
Malynovska, O., & Stafiichuk, V. (2025). Current Trends in Labor Immigration in the Gulf Cooperation Council States. The World of the Orient, (2 (127), 135-147. https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2025.02.135
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##
Keywords
GCC states; Kafala system; migrant workers; migration; migration policy
References
Вишневська А. & Петренко К. (2022), “Вплив глобалізації на міграційні процеси у світі та Європі”, Економічний вісник НТУУ “Київський політехнічний інститут”, № 23, с. 34–39. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20535/2307-5651.23.2022.264626
Коппель О. А. & Пархомчук О. С. (2024), “Вплив реконфігурації близькосхідної підсистеми на міжнародні відносини (безпековий аспект)”, Східний світ, № 1, с. 119–131. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2024.01.119
Курилич М. (2018), “Трансформація та політизація міграційних процесів під впливом глобалізації”, Наукові записки, вип. 49, с. 364–380.
Лавер О., Матяшовська Б. & Шумило Н. (2020), “Локальні війни початку ХХІ століття на Близькому та Середньому Сході і їхній вплив на міграційні процеси в регіоні”, Науковий вісник Ужгородського університету. Серія: Історія, № 2 (43), с. 155–164. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24144/2523-4498.2(43).2020.217454
Малиновська О. А. (2018), Міграційна політика: глобальний контекст та українські реалії, НІСД, Київ.
Семенкова М. А. (2020), “Міжнародні міграційні процеси як інструмент гібридного впливу: стан вивчення проблеми”, Актуальні проблеми політики, № 65, с. 139–146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32837/app.v0i65.318
Сітнікова І. (2020), “У світі 29 мільйонів жінок є жертвами сучасного рабства – правозахисники”, Hromadske, 10 жовтня, режим доступу: https://hromadske.ua/posts/u-sviti-29-miljoniv-zhinok-ye-zhertvami-suchasnogo-rabstva-zvit-v-oon (дата звернення: 28.03.2025).
Тищенкова І. (2022), “Міграційні процеси у сучасному світі як елемент безпеки”, в Міжнародна та національна безпека: теоретичні і прикладні аспекти. Матеріали VІ Міжнар. наук.-практ. конференції (Дніпро, 11.03.2022), ДДУВС, Дніпро, с. 113–114, режим доступу: https://er.dduvs.edu.ua/bitstream/123456789/9993/1/45.pdf (дата звернення: 05.12.2024).
Томашук І. & Болтовська Л. (2022), “Міграційні процеси у контексті глобалізації світової економіки”, Економіка та суспільство, № 40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2524-0072/2022-40-50
Aarthi S. V. and Sahu M. (2021), “Migration Policy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States: A Critical Analysis”, Contemporary Review of the Middle East, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 410–434. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/23477989211028748
AlShehabi O. H. (2021), “Policing Labor in Empire: the modern Origins of the Kafala Sponsorship System in the Gulf Arab States”, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 48, Issue 2, pp. 291–310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2019.1580183
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) (2022), Situation Report on International Migration 2021. Building Forward Better for Migrants and Refugees in the Arab Region, United Nations publication issued by ESCWA, United Nations House, Riad El Solh Square, P.O., Beirut.
Fargues P. and Shah N. M. (2018), Migration to the Gulf: Policies in Sending and Receiving Countries, Gulf Research Center Cambridge.
Human Rights Watch (2020), “How Can We Work Without Wages?” Salary Abuses Facing Migrant Workers Ahead of Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022, New York.
International Labour Organization (2017), Employer-Migrant Worker Relationships in the Middle East: Exploring Scope for Internal Labour Market Mobility and Fair Migration, Regional Office for Arab States, Beirut.
International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2000), World Migration Report 2000, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
Ishii M., Hosoda N., Matsuo M. and Horinuki K. (2019), Asian Migrant Workers in the Arab Gulf States. The Growing Foreign Population and Their Lives, Brill, Leiden and Boston. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004395404
Kechichian J. A. and Alsharif F. L. (2022), Sa’udi Policies towards Migrants and Refugees: A Sacred Duty, Liverpool University Press, Liverpool. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv333ktm5
Khalaf A., AlShehabi O. Hanieh A. and Patrick M. (2015), Transit States: Labour, Migration and Citizenship in the Gulf, Pluto Press, London.
McAuliffe M. and Oucho L. A. (eds) (2024), World Migration Report 2024, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva.
Migration Data Portal (2024), available at: https://www.migrationdataportal.org/ (accessed December 06, 2024).
Robinson K. (2022), “What Is the Kafala System?”, Council on Foreign Relations, November 18, available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-kafala-system (accessed Mart 27, 2025).
Saudi Census 2022 (2022), available at: https://portal.saudicensus.sa/portal (accessed December 20, 2024).
United Nations (2020), Visit to Qatar. Report of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, available at: https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/44/57/Add.1 (accessed Mart 29, 2025).
Valenta M. and Jakobsen J. (2016), “Moving to the Gulf: An Empirical Analysis of the Patterns and Drivers of Migration to the GCC Countries, 1960–2013”, Labor History, Vol. 57, Issue 5, pp. 627–648. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2016.1239885
Walk Free (2021), Global Slavery Index 2021, available at: https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/ (accessed Mart 28, 2025).
Walker S. (2023), “Human Rights in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States: Prospects for Positive Change”, Contemporary Review of the Middle East, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 126–146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/23477989231154147
World Bank (2023), World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies, Washington. DOI: https://doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1941-4
REFERENCES
Vyshnevska A. and Petrenko K. (2022), “Vplyv hlobalizatsii na mihratsiini protsesy u sviti ta Yevropi”, Ekonomichnyi visnyk NTUU “Kyivskyi politekhnichnyi instytut”, No. 23, pp. 34–39. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.20535/2307-5651.23.2022.264626
Koppel O. A. and Parkhomchuk O. S. (2024), “Vplyv rekonfihuratsii blyzkoskhidnoi pidsystemy na mizhnarodni vidnosyny (bezpekovyi aspekt)”, Shìdnij svìt, No. 1, pp. 119–131. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2024.01.119
Kurylych M. (2018), “Transformatsiia ta polityzatsiia mihratsiynykh protsesiv pid vplyvom hlobalizatsiï”, Naukovi zapysky, Vol. 49, pp. 364–380. (In Ukrainian).
Laver O., Matiashovska B. and Shumylo N. (2020), “Lokalni viiny pochatku XXI stolittia na Blyzkomu ta Serednomu Skhodi i yikhnii vplyv na mihratsiini protsesy v rehioni”, Naukovyi visnyk Uzhhorodskoho universytetu. Seriia: Istoriia, No. 2 (43), pp. 155–164. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.24144/2523-4498.2(43).2020.217454
Malynovska O. A. (2018), Mihratsiina polityka: hlobalnyy kontekst ta ukrayinski realiyi, NISD, Kyiv. (In Ukrainian).
Semenkova M. A. (2020), “Mizhnarodni mihratsiini protsesy yak instrument hibrydnoho vplyvu: stan vyvchennia problem”, Aktualni problemy polityky, No. 65, pp. 139–146. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.32837/app.v0i65.318
Sitnikova I. (2020), “U sviti 29 milioniv zhinok ye zhertvamy suchasnoho rabstva – pravozakhysnyky”, Hromadske, October 10, available at: https://hromadske.ua/posts/u-sviti- 29-miljoniv-zhinok-ye-zhertvami-suchasnogo-rabstva-zvit-v-oon (accessed Mart 28, 2025). (In Ukrainian).
Tyshchenkova I. (2022), “Mihratsiini protsesy u suchasnomu sviti yak element bezpeky”, in Mizhnarodna ta natsionalna bezpeka: teoretychni i prykladni aspekty. Materialy VI Mizhnar. nauk.-prakt. konferentsii (Dnipro, 11.03.2022), DDUVS, Dnipro, pp. 113–114, available at: https://er.dduvs.edu.ua/bitstream/123456789/9993/1/45.pdf (accessed December 5, 2024). (In Ukrainian).
Tomashuk I. and Boltovska L. (2022), “Mihratsiini protsesy u konteksti hlobalizatsii svitovoi ekonomiky”, Ekonomika ta suspilstvo, No. 40. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2524-0072/2022-40-50
Aarthi S. V. and Sahu M. (2021), “Migration Policy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States: A Critical Analysis”, Contemporary Review of the Middle East, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 410–434. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/23477989211028748
AlShehabi O. H. (2021), “Policing Labor in Empire: the modern Origins of the Kafala Sponsorship System in the Gulf Arab States”, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 48, Issue 2, pp. 291–310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2019.1580183
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) (2022), Situation Report on International Migration 2021. Building Forward Better for Migrants and Refugees in the Arab Region, United Nations publication issued by ESCWA, United Nations House, Riad El Solh Square, P.O., Beirut.
Fargues P. and Shah N. M. (2018), Migration to the Gulf: Policies in Sending and Receiving Countries, Gulf Research Center Cambridge.
Human Rights Watch (2020), “How Can We Work Without Wages?” Salary Abuses Facing Migrant Workers Ahead of Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022, New York.
International Labour Organization (2017), Employer-Migrant Worker Relationships in the Middle East: Exploring Scope for Internal Labour Market Mobility and Fair Migration, Regional Office for Arab States, Beirut.
International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2000), World Migration Report 2000, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
Ishii M., Hosoda N., Matsuo M. and Horinuki K. (2019), Asian Migrant Workers in the Arab Gulf States. The Growing Foreign Population and Their Lives, Brill, Leiden and Boston. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004395404
Kechichian J. A. and Alsharif F. L. (2022), Sa’udi Policies towards Migrants and Refugees: A Sacred Duty, Liverpool University Press, Liverpool. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv333ktm5
Khalaf A., AlShehabi O. Hanieh A. and Patrick M. (2015), Transit States: Labour, Migration and Citizenship in the Gulf, Pluto Press, London.
McAuliffe M. and Oucho L. A. (eds) (2024), World Migration Report 2024, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva.
Migration Data Portal (2024), available at: https://www.migrationdataportal.org/ (accessed December 06, 2024).
Robinson K. (2022), “What Is the Kafala System?”, Council on Foreign Relations, November 18, available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-kafala-system (accessed Mart 27, 2025).
Saudi Census 2022 (2022), available at: https://portal.saudicensus.sa/portal (accessed December 20, 2024).
United Nations (2020), Visit to Qatar. Report of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, available at: https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/44/57/Add.1 (accessed Mart 29, 2025).
Valenta M. and Jakobsen J. (2016), “Moving to the Gulf: An Empirical Analysis of the Patterns and Drivers of Migration to the GCC Countries, 1960–2013”, Labor History, Vol. 57, Issue 5, pp. 627–648. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2016.1239885
Walk Free (2021), Global Slavery Index 2021, available at: https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/ (accessed Mart 28, 2025).
Walker S. (2023), “Human Rights in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States: Prospects for Positive Change”, Contemporary Review of the Middle East, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 126–146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/23477989231154147
World Bank (2023), World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies, Washington. DOI: https://doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1941-4
Коппель О. А. & Пархомчук О. С. (2024), “Вплив реконфігурації близькосхідної підсистеми на міжнародні відносини (безпековий аспект)”, Східний світ, № 1, с. 119–131. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2024.01.119
Курилич М. (2018), “Трансформація та політизація міграційних процесів під впливом глобалізації”, Наукові записки, вип. 49, с. 364–380.
Лавер О., Матяшовська Б. & Шумило Н. (2020), “Локальні війни початку ХХІ століття на Близькому та Середньому Сході і їхній вплив на міграційні процеси в регіоні”, Науковий вісник Ужгородського університету. Серія: Історія, № 2 (43), с. 155–164. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24144/2523-4498.2(43).2020.217454
Малиновська О. А. (2018), Міграційна політика: глобальний контекст та українські реалії, НІСД, Київ.
Семенкова М. А. (2020), “Міжнародні міграційні процеси як інструмент гібридного впливу: стан вивчення проблеми”, Актуальні проблеми політики, № 65, с. 139–146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32837/app.v0i65.318
Сітнікова І. (2020), “У світі 29 мільйонів жінок є жертвами сучасного рабства – правозахисники”, Hromadske, 10 жовтня, режим доступу: https://hromadske.ua/posts/u-sviti-29-miljoniv-zhinok-ye-zhertvami-suchasnogo-rabstva-zvit-v-oon (дата звернення: 28.03.2025).
Тищенкова І. (2022), “Міграційні процеси у сучасному світі як елемент безпеки”, в Міжнародна та національна безпека: теоретичні і прикладні аспекти. Матеріали VІ Міжнар. наук.-практ. конференції (Дніпро, 11.03.2022), ДДУВС, Дніпро, с. 113–114, режим доступу: https://er.dduvs.edu.ua/bitstream/123456789/9993/1/45.pdf (дата звернення: 05.12.2024).
Томашук І. & Болтовська Л. (2022), “Міграційні процеси у контексті глобалізації світової економіки”, Економіка та суспільство, № 40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2524-0072/2022-40-50
Aarthi S. V. and Sahu M. (2021), “Migration Policy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States: A Critical Analysis”, Contemporary Review of the Middle East, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 410–434. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/23477989211028748
AlShehabi O. H. (2021), “Policing Labor in Empire: the modern Origins of the Kafala Sponsorship System in the Gulf Arab States”, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 48, Issue 2, pp. 291–310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2019.1580183
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) (2022), Situation Report on International Migration 2021. Building Forward Better for Migrants and Refugees in the Arab Region, United Nations publication issued by ESCWA, United Nations House, Riad El Solh Square, P.O., Beirut.
Fargues P. and Shah N. M. (2018), Migration to the Gulf: Policies in Sending and Receiving Countries, Gulf Research Center Cambridge.
Human Rights Watch (2020), “How Can We Work Without Wages?” Salary Abuses Facing Migrant Workers Ahead of Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022, New York.
International Labour Organization (2017), Employer-Migrant Worker Relationships in the Middle East: Exploring Scope for Internal Labour Market Mobility and Fair Migration, Regional Office for Arab States, Beirut.
International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2000), World Migration Report 2000, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
Ishii M., Hosoda N., Matsuo M. and Horinuki K. (2019), Asian Migrant Workers in the Arab Gulf States. The Growing Foreign Population and Their Lives, Brill, Leiden and Boston. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004395404
Kechichian J. A. and Alsharif F. L. (2022), Sa’udi Policies towards Migrants and Refugees: A Sacred Duty, Liverpool University Press, Liverpool. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv333ktm5
Khalaf A., AlShehabi O. Hanieh A. and Patrick M. (2015), Transit States: Labour, Migration and Citizenship in the Gulf, Pluto Press, London.
McAuliffe M. and Oucho L. A. (eds) (2024), World Migration Report 2024, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva.
Migration Data Portal (2024), available at: https://www.migrationdataportal.org/ (accessed December 06, 2024).
Robinson K. (2022), “What Is the Kafala System?”, Council on Foreign Relations, November 18, available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-kafala-system (accessed Mart 27, 2025).
Saudi Census 2022 (2022), available at: https://portal.saudicensus.sa/portal (accessed December 20, 2024).
United Nations (2020), Visit to Qatar. Report of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, available at: https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/44/57/Add.1 (accessed Mart 29, 2025).
Valenta M. and Jakobsen J. (2016), “Moving to the Gulf: An Empirical Analysis of the Patterns and Drivers of Migration to the GCC Countries, 1960–2013”, Labor History, Vol. 57, Issue 5, pp. 627–648. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2016.1239885
Walk Free (2021), Global Slavery Index 2021, available at: https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/ (accessed Mart 28, 2025).
Walker S. (2023), “Human Rights in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States: Prospects for Positive Change”, Contemporary Review of the Middle East, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 126–146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/23477989231154147
World Bank (2023), World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies, Washington. DOI: https://doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1941-4
REFERENCES
Vyshnevska A. and Petrenko K. (2022), “Vplyv hlobalizatsii na mihratsiini protsesy u sviti ta Yevropi”, Ekonomichnyi visnyk NTUU “Kyivskyi politekhnichnyi instytut”, No. 23, pp. 34–39. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.20535/2307-5651.23.2022.264626
Koppel O. A. and Parkhomchuk O. S. (2024), “Vplyv rekonfihuratsii blyzkoskhidnoi pidsystemy na mizhnarodni vidnosyny (bezpekovyi aspekt)”, Shìdnij svìt, No. 1, pp. 119–131. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/orientw2024.01.119
Kurylych M. (2018), “Transformatsiia ta polityzatsiia mihratsiynykh protsesiv pid vplyvom hlobalizatsiï”, Naukovi zapysky, Vol. 49, pp. 364–380. (In Ukrainian).
Laver O., Matiashovska B. and Shumylo N. (2020), “Lokalni viiny pochatku XXI stolittia na Blyzkomu ta Serednomu Skhodi i yikhnii vplyv na mihratsiini protsesy v rehioni”, Naukovyi visnyk Uzhhorodskoho universytetu. Seriia: Istoriia, No. 2 (43), pp. 155–164. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.24144/2523-4498.2(43).2020.217454
Malynovska O. A. (2018), Mihratsiina polityka: hlobalnyy kontekst ta ukrayinski realiyi, NISD, Kyiv. (In Ukrainian).
Semenkova M. A. (2020), “Mizhnarodni mihratsiini protsesy yak instrument hibrydnoho vplyvu: stan vyvchennia problem”, Aktualni problemy polityky, No. 65, pp. 139–146. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.32837/app.v0i65.318
Sitnikova I. (2020), “U sviti 29 milioniv zhinok ye zhertvamy suchasnoho rabstva – pravozakhysnyky”, Hromadske, October 10, available at: https://hromadske.ua/posts/u-sviti- 29-miljoniv-zhinok-ye-zhertvami-suchasnogo-rabstva-zvit-v-oon (accessed Mart 28, 2025). (In Ukrainian).
Tyshchenkova I. (2022), “Mihratsiini protsesy u suchasnomu sviti yak element bezpeky”, in Mizhnarodna ta natsionalna bezpeka: teoretychni i prykladni aspekty. Materialy VI Mizhnar. nauk.-prakt. konferentsii (Dnipro, 11.03.2022), DDUVS, Dnipro, pp. 113–114, available at: https://er.dduvs.edu.ua/bitstream/123456789/9993/1/45.pdf (accessed December 5, 2024). (In Ukrainian).
Tomashuk I. and Boltovska L. (2022), “Mihratsiini protsesy u konteksti hlobalizatsii svitovoi ekonomiky”, Ekonomika ta suspilstvo, No. 40. (In Ukrainian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2524-0072/2022-40-50
Aarthi S. V. and Sahu M. (2021), “Migration Policy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States: A Critical Analysis”, Contemporary Review of the Middle East, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 410–434. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/23477989211028748
AlShehabi O. H. (2021), “Policing Labor in Empire: the modern Origins of the Kafala Sponsorship System in the Gulf Arab States”, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 48, Issue 2, pp. 291–310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2019.1580183
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) (2022), Situation Report on International Migration 2021. Building Forward Better for Migrants and Refugees in the Arab Region, United Nations publication issued by ESCWA, United Nations House, Riad El Solh Square, P.O., Beirut.
Fargues P. and Shah N. M. (2018), Migration to the Gulf: Policies in Sending and Receiving Countries, Gulf Research Center Cambridge.
Human Rights Watch (2020), “How Can We Work Without Wages?” Salary Abuses Facing Migrant Workers Ahead of Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022, New York.
International Labour Organization (2017), Employer-Migrant Worker Relationships in the Middle East: Exploring Scope for Internal Labour Market Mobility and Fair Migration, Regional Office for Arab States, Beirut.
International Organization for Migration (IOM) (2000), World Migration Report 2000, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
Ishii M., Hosoda N., Matsuo M. and Horinuki K. (2019), Asian Migrant Workers in the Arab Gulf States. The Growing Foreign Population and Their Lives, Brill, Leiden and Boston. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004395404
Kechichian J. A. and Alsharif F. L. (2022), Sa’udi Policies towards Migrants and Refugees: A Sacred Duty, Liverpool University Press, Liverpool. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv333ktm5
Khalaf A., AlShehabi O. Hanieh A. and Patrick M. (2015), Transit States: Labour, Migration and Citizenship in the Gulf, Pluto Press, London.
McAuliffe M. and Oucho L. A. (eds) (2024), World Migration Report 2024, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva.
Migration Data Portal (2024), available at: https://www.migrationdataportal.org/ (accessed December 06, 2024).
Robinson K. (2022), “What Is the Kafala System?”, Council on Foreign Relations, November 18, available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-kafala-system (accessed Mart 27, 2025).
Saudi Census 2022 (2022), available at: https://portal.saudicensus.sa/portal (accessed December 20, 2024).
United Nations (2020), Visit to Qatar. Report of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, available at: https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/44/57/Add.1 (accessed Mart 29, 2025).
Valenta M. and Jakobsen J. (2016), “Moving to the Gulf: An Empirical Analysis of the Patterns and Drivers of Migration to the GCC Countries, 1960–2013”, Labor History, Vol. 57, Issue 5, pp. 627–648. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2016.1239885
Walk Free (2021), Global Slavery Index 2021, available at: https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/ (accessed Mart 28, 2025).
Walker S. (2023), “Human Rights in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States: Prospects for Positive Change”, Contemporary Review of the Middle East, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 126–146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/23477989231154147
World Bank (2023), World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies, Washington. DOI: https://doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1941-4
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.