High Skilled Professionals in the GCC: Migration policies and Government outlook

The long-term national visions of the GCC states are unanimous in their ambition: economic development of their countries and transformation into knowledge-based economies. In order for these states to achieve this objective, it is critical that they continue to attract high-skilled professionals with the required expertise and know-how. This paper attempts to provide substantive research into both current government policies and their future-planning as to how high-skilled migrants will continue to aid the development of GCC countries. The aim of this paper is to understand the dynamics that come into play when hiring and recruiting high-skilled migrants for employment in the GCC states. It will analyze GCC government approaches through various policies, in areas such as Immigration and Labor, which have been adopted to address the requirements of these migrants. The paper will then highlight a trend in the demand for the various high-skilled professionals that has emerged in the GCC owing to the changing economic dynamics of the countries involved. It will evaluate how this approach towards highly skilled professionals sits alongside nationalization plans that could be said to be diametrically opposite in ambition, in an attempt to determine the future trajectory of GCC countries in their approach towards high-skilled professionals.