GCC in joint push to block tainted expatriates’ entry

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In yet another move to cut reliance on foreign labour, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is working on a joint database project that will contain comprehensive information about tainted foreign workers.

The plan is aimed at preventing the entry of a foreign worker into any Gulf country, if proof is found of his criminal involvement in his previous country of residence, Arab News reported.

“The project is subject to clearance from the ministries of labor and interior of the GCC countries,” said a GCC source. He said the details of the database and the mechanism to follow were discussed by the GCC labor ministers’ meeting held in October last.

Referring to the benefits of this project, Hashim Kareem, an agent at a manpower recruitment company, said the move would “prevent a foreign worker from entering any Gulf state if he/she has committed a crime in another GCC state which has led to his/her conviction or deportation.”

He, however, observed that the implementation of such a plan would be very difficult. “In fact, many expatriates deported from Gulf countries often obtain false travel documents under a different name to re-enter the same country or another GCC state,” he noted.

Kareem said the crime rates had risen in the GCC countries and the growing presence of foreign workers is cited as one of the reasons.

“But the severity of penalties and the rigid system of enforcement are credited by both officials and ordinary citizens with contributing to the high standards of public safety still prevalent in the Gulf including Saudi Arabia,” he added. The database will include details of all expats, who have broken civil and criminal laws or been convicted or deported.

1 COMMENT

  1. Which moron in GCC information Department spoke regards to difficulty facing in Identification of Foreign worker?
    Fingerprinting identification, along with Iris capturing at the time of Jail term will give you keep people from gaining entry into GCC States through false identification.

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