Out-Law News

Labour fees reduced in Qatar

West Bay, the business district of Qatar's capital city of Doha

Qatar has cut the costs of recruitment licences. Photo: Sorin Furcoi/Getty Images


Qatar’s Ministry of Labour has revealed new fees for a host of services related to hiring staff, including issuing work permits and recruitment licences – the latter having been dramatically cut in price.

Recruitment licences drop in cost from QAR10,000 to QAR2000 - the same as renewing an existing licence - while the renewal cost for workers recruited to Qatar falls from QAR500 to QAR100.

However, the cost of a replacement work permit to replace lost or damaged ones has doubled to QAR100.

The changes, which came into effect at the end of September, will have an impact on private companies, recruitment agencies, HR departments, and legal teams operating in Qatar – although Qatari citizens, children of Qatari women and citizens from the GCC states are exempted from attestation costs.

Sarah Khasawneh, a legal expert at Pinsent Masons in Qatar, said that “The reduction in recruitment license fees is a welcome move for agencies and businesses looking to expand their workforce and target international talents into the Qatari market.”

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