Employing companies are advised to guarantee "demographic diversity"
Industry insiders refute reports that the UAE has temporarily stopped granting visas to Pakistanis and Indians.
select South Asian nationals have had difficulty obtaining work visas for prospective employees, according to select companies in the United Arab Emirates. An alert from the authorities appears when businesses that employ a disproportionate number of persons of a given nationality apply for new visas for members of that nationality, requesting that they “achieve demographic diversity while hiring.
However, visa specialists and representatives flatly denied popular allegations that the United Arab Emirates has ceased providing visas to citizens of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India.
Upon contacting the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MoHRE) in Dubai, a business service centre was informed that employers are required to hire a diverse pool of nationalities. They have to make sure that diverse nationalities receive the "first 20 percent of available quotas in the establishments." It is noteworthy that this process is not connected to any particular country, but rather to the demographic variety of the establishments.
Businesses were advised to consider recruiting a worker from a different country if they get the directive to increase diversity.
The MoHRE has been contacted by Khaleej Times to request a statement. A representative from the ministry's phone centre verified to KT that a company's first twenty percent of employees need to be diversified. "To meet diversity requirements, a company must hire a person of a different nationality for the same role if, for instance, its application for a visa for a specific employee is denied due to lack of diversity," the spokesperson stated. "It is universal and applies to all people without regard to their nationality."
She also mentioned that businesses could hire people of any nationality after reaching the 20% diversity target.
Firose khan, managing director of Dubai-based Profound Business Service, refuted accusations on social media that the government had stopped granting visas to Indians, saying instead, "I got visa for an Indian applicant at a company that has a diverse workforce." But when I attempted to obtain one for an applicant in a place of business where the vast majority of workers are Indian, I was met with the statement "achieve diversity."
The UAE wishes to increase diversity in the workplace, according to an executive of another business centre.
The bulk of workers in many UAE-based enterprises are Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi. Thus, a company cannot request for additional visas for individuals from the same nations if it already employs a significant number of people from these three nationalities, according to Abdul Gafoor, general manager of Al Mas Businessmen Service.
This rule did not apply to freezones as of Thursday. "There have been no problems getting work permits issued for any of the companies operating out of free zones," he stated. "It appears to be something that only applies to companies on the mainland thus far."
The MoHRE had announced a three-tier system of classification in 2022. One of the requirements for enterprises to receive a higher classification—and consequently, a reduction on work permits and transfer fees—was to achieve diversity in their employment practices.
Making the social and cultural variety of the UAE "an integral part of the core values of the companies in the private sector" is the goal of the diversity policy, according to the MoHRE. This will be accomplished by providing fair job opportunities, empowering UAE citizens in accordance with the applicable percentages of Emiratization, and diversifying the cultural backgrounds of their workforce.