Immigration

Qatar | Fines for non-compliance with Qatar
Nationalisation Law

Impact High

Summary

The Qatar Government has announced fines for violating the new Qatar Nationalisation Law (‘the Law’), which will take effect on 1 March 2025.

The detail

The Law will be implemented by different competent authorities, six months after its publication. Its primary objective is to increase the participation of Qatari nationals in the workforce, generate new job opportunities and improve the skills of the local population.

According to the Law, if an entity or individual is found non compliant with the Law, they will receive a notification to address the issue within a designated time frame. Failure to comply with the notification will result in the following:

• A written warning;
• Suspension of transactions with the Ministries for up to three months;
• Fines while mandating that the violator correct the cause of the violation.

Additionally, Article (12) of the Law specifies that anyone who employs fraudulent tactics to provide false information to circumvent the Law, may face penalties of up to three years in prison and fines of up to QAR 1 million.

Other financial fines will range between QAR 10,000 to QAR 100,000 for non compliance with the Nationalisation obligations, such as:

• Failing to allocate jobs as per the nationalisation plan can result in fines of QAR 10,000 for the first violation, QAR 20,000 for the second, and QAR 30,000 for subsequent violations.
• Not adhering to a training and rehabilitation plan carries fines of QAR 50,000 for the first offence, QAR 75,000 for the second, and QAR 100,000 for the third.

What this means

The new Law seeks to significantly increase the effective participation of the national workforce in the private sector institutions and companies, opening up new employment and career opportunities for Qatari nationals. The introduction of fines and penalties serves to ensure that employers are taking the necessary actions to employ citizens and that they do not circumvent
the Law and Qatarisation requirements. Where Qatarisation requirements are not met, this could have a detrimental impact on the ability to also hire expatriates.

How we can help

We will continue to closely monitor and provide timely guidance on any new updates announced by the authorities. We will also advise on how Qatarisation may impact companies’ ability to hire and retain non-Qatari nationals, and the requirements that need to be met in order to comply with the Law.

Contact us

For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:

Anir Chatterji
EMEA Immigration Partner

Antoine Salloum
Senior Manager, Qatar Immigration Lead

Marilyn Serrao
Senior Associate, Middle East Immigration

Further information on Vialto Partners can be found here: www.vialtopartners.com

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