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>The onus is on the expatriate either to find another exit sponsor, who must be a Qatari national, or to provide a certificate that there are no outstanding leg

by altero 13y ago

>The onus is on the expatriate either to find another exit sponsor, who must be a Qatari national, or to provide a certificate that there are no outstanding legal claims against the person trying to leave 15 days after publishing a notice in two daily newspapers. This seems to be doable workaround. This could be possibly even automated, perhaps start-up idea? I do not think this could be changed politically, US and those states are best buddies and any serious political pressure would be vetoed.

objclxt 13y ago
>This seems to be doable workaround. This could be possibly even automated, perhaps start-up idea? I am guessing you haven't actually worked in Qatar or Saudi Arabia, the two Middle Eastern countries that retain exit visas. I have (Saudi Arabia), and I think it's really naive to think this is do-able, and even a little bit insulting to think a start-up could somehow solve what's going on here. Let's consider the two alternatives: first of all, they are both no-goes for the type of workers who are trapped by exit visas. Placing a notice in two daily newspapers? Even if you manage to get that, you've then got to get the certificate. Getting any kind of official documentation out of the bureaucracy is next to impossible for someone who a) isn't a citizen of Qatar / Saudi, and b) has no wasta (which roughly translates into 'clout', or 'who you know'). Which brings us onto the other option: finding a Qatari national. The case cited in the article, of a French professional footballer, is rather unique. The vast majority of people unable to obtain exit visas are immigrant workers doing low-paid jobs no Qatari or Saudi wants to do. They are, for all intents and purposes, effectively slaves. I saw it with my own eyes when I was working there: indeed, I remember reading several stories of migrant workers trying to stow themselves away in planes out of Saudi. So as an exploited worker let's say you manage to find a Qatari willing to sponsor your exit. Except you won't, for two reasons: firstly, no national would risk creating trouble with the state (especially in Saudi, which has a religious police force (the Muttaween), and even if you did find a national willing to help you (which again, would be virtually impossible) the chances are they'd have no wasta and would almost certainly end up in a dead end of paperwork and bureaucracy. I met many good people in Qatar and Saudi: people who think the current system of 'government' (if you can call it that) is wrong, and that the large numbers of workers coming in from India, Indonesia, and the like are being exploited. But they are simply not able to do what you're suggesting - subvert the system - without serious and profound consequences.

by altero 13y ago

objclxt 13y ago

>This seems to be doable workaround. This could be possibly even automated, perhaps start-up idea? I am guessing you haven't actually worked in Qatar or Saudi Arabia, the two Middle Eastern countries that retain exit visas. I have (Saudi Arabia), and I think it's really naive to think this is do-able, and even a little bit insulting to think a start-up could somehow solve what's going on here. Let's consider the two alternatives: first of all, they are both no-goes for the type of workers who are trapped by exit visas. Placing a notice in two daily newspapers? Even if you manage to get that, you've then got to get the certificate. Getting any kind of official documentation out of the bureaucracy is next to impossible for someone who a) isn't a citizen of Qatar / Saudi, and b) has no wasta (which roughly translates into 'clout', or 'who you know'). Which brings us onto the other option: finding a Qatari national. The case cited in the article, of a French professional footballer, is rather unique. The vast majority of people unable to obtain exit visas are immigrant workers doing low-paid jobs no Qatari or Saudi wants to do. They are, for all intents and purposes, effectively slaves. I saw it with my own eyes when I was working there: indeed, I remember reading several stories of migrant workers trying to stow themselves away in planes out of Saudi. So as an exploited worker let's say you manage to find a Qatari willing to sponsor your exit. Except you won't, for two reasons: firstly, no national would risk creating trouble with the state (especially in Saudi, which has a religious police force (the Muttaween), and even if you did find a national willing to help you (which again, would be virtually impossible) the chances are they'd have no wasta and would almost certainly end up in a dead end of paperwork and bureaucracy. I met many good people in Qatar and Saudi: people who think the current system of 'government' (if you can call it that) is wrong, and that the large numbers of workers coming in from India, Indonesia, and the like are being exploited. But they are simply not able to do what you're suggesting - subvert the system - without serious and profound consequences.