(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Qatari law sets strict punishment for visa traders with aim of preventing trade of illegal visas because every single illegal work visa adds an unemployed worker. If he/she stays unemployed for a long time he/she could turn into a source of danger to the stability and security of the society as he/she lacks housing and food, in addition to his/her struggle to compensate the value of the visa.
Job vacancies requires competent and professional people to fill positions rather than financial capablity to buy visa. It's worth mentioning that punishment of visa trading is not limited to the seller, but includes beneficiary and middleman if the parties are convicted. However, it is not easy to actually convict people involved in visa trading, because the parties, who are aware that it is illegal, make clandestine deals between seller, buyer and middleman.
Competent authorities take all possible measures to crack down such illegal practices of visa trading in line with the law provisions. Law No 4/2009 stipulates that "everyone who abdicating visas or allow other to take its advantage or used it on behave of him/her in any means or trading or circulated with compensation or without shall be punished in jail not more than three years and fine not more than QR50,000 or both together.
In case the crime is repeated then the punishment becomes stricter accordingly. According to the Qatari law a convicted person is considered guilty if he repeats same crime within a year from the date of completion of the punishment verdict by the competent court or revoked under any circumstances after a period of time.
All parties involved in visa trading are considered guilty because they agreed to violate the law intentionally. The society becomes the victim of such practices due to the negative implications of this phenomenon on the ground.
Due to this, concerned authorities have tightened issuing visas to suspicious companies. Issuance of new visas is preceded with security checks to make sure that company has valid documents and eligiblity.
Authorities also follow up doubtful visas by restricting them to prevent beneficiary from transferring sponsorship to another employer, because he/she is considered a partner of the banned company.
Therefore I would like to advise job seekers not to buy work visas, and instead to try their best to apply and get a job through proper channels.
Many buy work visa only to legalise the status of residency in the country. However, when he/she gets a job he/she will find it difficult to transfer the sponsorship because the visa is restricted.
All companies are subject to monitoring and inspection with the aim of preventing then from misusing the visas issued for work purposes.
Visa trading also negatively affects the labour market by reduction in wages, which is not in favour of work force.
One of the advantages of restricting suspicious work visas is the elimination of so called free visas.
This procedure will end the phenomenon of trading of work visas and this kind of visas will lose their value.
The latest update in this regard included amendment on the labour law which stipulated mandatory wage transfer to bank account of the worker within the deadline of salary payment.
Transferring workers' wages to financial institutions
The amendment of last labour law no 1/2015 is evidence of supremacy of law in labour relations, because transferring wages promotes and supports the parties of work who are committed to the law. The amendment marked by objectivity and issued according to a comprehensive study of current labour relations and labour law.
"The employers shall transfer each worker's salary in Qatari currency to his or her account at any of the financial institutions in the country. Remuneration of the workers appointed on the basis of an annual or monthly salary shall be paid, at least, once a month, while that of all the other workers shall be paid, at least, once every two weeks. The employer shall not be discharged from the responsibility of paying the wage otherwise."
And violators "shall be imprisoned for a period not exceeding one month or a fine of not less than QR2,000 but not exceeding QR6,000 or either one of them." There is no doubt that this amendment serves public interest and will eliminate many violations of labour law. This will reign in rougue companies and employers who were not following procedures and exploiting labourers.
By implementing this law, the employers will become keener to follow the law to legalise workers' situation, beacuse to transfer wages to financial institutions requires legal documents and papers to prove the relation between the parties. In addition to accounts which disclose the beginning of the relation and the continuity of the same.
Final departure tickets
It should be noted that the labour law No 14/2004 has put conditions on granting the employee ticket at the final departure and states that "at the end of the worker's service the employer must return the worker to the place from where he was brought to Qatar, or to an agreed destination, at his expense within two weeks of the end of his services in the company."
"In case the employee has transferred his sponsorship to another company or employer before going back home, his new sponsor is responsible for returning him home, and if the employer does not return the worker to his home country at his expense, Labour Administration will do that on his behalf and make the employer pay for it."
So providing ticket at the end of employee service is the duty of the employer and they are obliged to provide it like other benefits at the end of the service, if the employee is leaving the state and not transferring his sponsorship to another company.
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