UAE work visas: Some firms told to ensure diverse nationalities when hiring

UAE work visas: Some firms told to ensure diverse nationalities when hiring

Some companies in the UAE have been unable to procure work visas for potential employees of certain South Asian nationalities. When companies with an overwhelming number of employees from a particular nationality apply for new visas for people of the same nationality, a message from the authorities pops up, asking them to “achieve demographic diversity while hiring”.

Visa experts and agents, however, categorically refuted viral claims that the UAE has stopped issuing visas to Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in the country.

When a business service centre in Dubai reached out to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE), it was told that establishments must diversify nationalities when hiring. They must ensure that the “first 20 per cent of available quotas in the establishments are allocated to different nationalities. It is important to note that this procedure is linked to the demographic diversity of the establishments and is not associated with a specific nationality”.

Companies were told to try hiring an employee of another nationality if they receive the message to achieve diversity.

Khaleej Times has reached out to the MoHRE for a statement. When KT contacted the ministry' call centre, a representative confirmed that the first 20 per cent of a company’s workforce