Qatar may abolish exit visa system for foreign workers by year’s end – UN agency

Qatar is set to abolish its controversial exit visa system for all foreign workers by the end of the year, the UN’s International Labor Organization said on Friday. Qatar has introduced a series of labor reforms since its selection to host the 2022 World Cup, which set in motion a huge construction program employing foreign workers. “Last year, the exit visa was eliminated for the majority of workers,” AFP quoted Houtan Homayounpour, head of the labor agency’s project office in Doha, as saying. “This year, that will be extended to all remaining categories of workers.” In September 2018, Qatar approved legislation to scrap the sponsorship system which required foreign workers to obtain permission from their employers to leave the country.