Title

Qatar: Law No. 3 of 1984 Regulating the Sponsorship of Expatriates and Their Exit

Date of adoption

13 June 1984

Last amended: 28 July 2002

Entry into force/ Status

Repealed by Law No. 4 of 2009

Text versions

Arabic

Sources:

– Official Journal Issue No. 6 (1984), p. 539. Retrieved from: Al-Meezan Qatar Legal Portal, accessed: 13 June 2014.

– http://www.almeezan.qa/LawView.aspx?opt&LawID=292&TYPE=PRINT&language=ar

Abstract

Art. 1 of this law requires every foreigner requesting to enter or reside in the State of Qatar for the purposes of work or accompanying or visiting a resident to have a sponsor. None of the aforementioned foreigners – except for unemployed women, minors and visitors whose visit is less than 30 days – may leave the country temporarily or permanently without presenting an exit sponsorship. The article further explains the procedure to be followed in case an exit sponsorship cannot be obtained from the sponsor.

Art. 6 defines who the sponsor should be for different categories of persons as follows:

1. The employer is the sponsor of the employee, worker or domestic helper. Persons may not work for anyone other than their sponsor.
2. Craftsmen and traders may be either sponsored by their Qatari partners or any Qatari who agrees to sponsor them.
3. The head of the family is the sponsor of his family members residing in Qatar.
4. A visitor must be sponsored by his host residing in Qatar.

Excluded from the above is the foreign woman who came to the country with the head of her family and was then employed by the governmental or private sector, in which case her sponsorship shall remain with the head of her family.

In accordance with Art. 7, the Minister of Interior may agree to the transfer of the sponsorship of a foreign worker if it is in the public interest and if a written agreement between the new and old sponsor is obtained.

Art. 9 defines the obligations of the sponsor towards the sponsored person.