Between regular and irregular employment: subverting the kafala system in the GCC countries

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on the strategies of migrant workers and employers to circumvent or subvert the kafala (sponsorship) system in the Arab Gulf States. While the kafala system provides individual and corporate sponsors with both near-exclusive power and legal responsibility for their employees, a range of informal practices has emerged, among them is the so-called ‘free visa’. We argue that the irregularities analysed in this paper are one aspect of the broader frictions between the restrictive kafala system and the need for a more flexible labour force in most Gulf States. Furthermore, both the migrant’s and the employer’s sides must be considered in order to understand the sustainability of these alternative practices, which often are at the margins of the law, and thus entail a number of risks for both parties. Finally, we draw attention to the fact that many employers are non-nationals, and that their perspectives and interests may differ from those of nationals.