The political tensions also affected hiring regulations for Egyptians. First, he said, hiring Egyptians into the country had become very difficult. Then Egyptians residing there who lost their jobs had difficulty getting their kafala (work permit) transferred to another employer and accordingly were compelled to leave the country.
Many Egyptians had left because of these regulations, Hazem said. There were around 300,000 Egyptians working in Qatar in 2018, according to a statement by Minister of State for Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates’ Affairs Nabila Makram.