Temporary Labour–Migration System and Long–term Residence Strategies in the United Arab Emirates

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

International Migration

Publication Date

2-1-2020

Abstract

© 2019 The Authors. International Migration © 2019 IOM The United Arab Emirates’ migration system, the sponsorship–based kafala system, is defined as a temporary labour–migration regime. Although there are policies making permanent residence unattainable for virtually all migrants, it is still relevant to explore the temporality of migrations in the UAE. The purpose of this study is to investigate developments in migration, migration policies and population trends in the country, including trends that concern the duration of migrants’ stay. We also identify some of the major strategies used by migrants to prolong their sojourn in the UAE. It is maintained that the migrant stock has increased continuously in the last decades and that a large number of migrants devise strategies to continue their residence and remain in the country for years. The authors also identify and discuss migrants’ transition within and in-between regularity and irregularity, and analyse the reasons for utilizing different strategies over time.

ISSN

0020-7985

Publisher

Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Volume

58

Issue

1

First Page

182

Last Page

197

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

immigrant population, immigration policy, international migration, labor migration, policy making, residential mobility, United Arab Emirates

Scopus ID

85078422196

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Green: A manuscript of this publication is openly available in a repository

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