Introduction
The United Arab Emirates is a nation renowned for its immigration policies, which have led to the majority of the population being comprised of noncitizens who come in from various locations around the world. Its two largest cities, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, are each responsible for a large portion of this massive population, mostly in the form of expatriate workers. Abu Dhabi, in particular, is a noteworthy case study subject due to its history as the center of the UAE government and its corresponding influence on the question of immigration in the nation. Moreover, it is not as well-known worldwide as Dubai, in no small part due to its lack of publicity efforts such as skyscraper construction. This case study will investigate the history, current state, benefits, and issues of these questions in the city to illustrate the immigration and citizenship questions.
History
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the UAE was effectively under the British Empire’s control. As such, there were numerous foreign workers and officials in its territory, controlling and exploiting the nation’s resources. However, the British government became unable to control the region in the 1960s and eventually abandoned it, with the emirates moving to become a federation known as the UAE today. However, many foreign immigrants remained in the nation for whatever reason, creating citizenship issues. As Lori (2019) notes, initially, only Arab males who could trace their lineage to 1925 or before could become citizens, with the rest effectively stateless despite citizenship laws being passed. While individual emirates still provided passports to those who did not qualify, citizenship matters were decided solely by the federal authorities located in Abu Dhabi.
As more oil was found in the Emirates, immigrants would come in to satisfy the demand for labor and participate in the nation’s rapid generation of wealth. However, while Abu Dhabi was eager to accept the new workers, it was also firmly against letting foreign actors benefit from its resources. Lori (2019) outlines the nation’s 1972 federal nationality law, which requires the potential UAE citizenship candidate to have lived in the country since 1940. The 30-year period was incorporated into the law for non-Arabs later on instead, as the 1940 date became more distant. With Abu Dhabi’s growing influence, it was able to pressure the other emirates into following suit, creating a system where obtaining citizenship as an immigrant is highly challenging. The policy has not relaxed since the nation’s inception, likely because of the dramatically growing numbers of immigrants and concerns over national identity.
The Present
Nowadays, the proportion of UAE nationals in the country is substantially lower than it was when the nation was first formed. López (2016) explains that foreigners were two-thirds of the population two years after the nation’s formation, over three-fourths in 2000 (with quadruple the population), and over 80% as of the book’s writing. As López (2016) also adds, they comprise both high-skill workers on which the nation relies to run its modern institutions and low-skilled laborers from countries such as India and Pakistan who were attracted by the nation’s growth. There are other notable characteristics, such as 72% of the UAE population being male and 38.8% of expatriate labor being located in Abu Dhabi, with another 31% residing in Dubai (López, 2016). Combined, these various factors provide an outline of the current immigration situation in Abu Dhabi.
Effectively, the people who come to Abu Dhabi for work do not necessarily do so for the same reasons as immigrants in other nations might. They have no interest in living their lives in the country and contributing to its welfare, and so, they do not bring their families with them. Instead, as the statistics demonstrate, most of Abu Dhabi’s immigrants are male workers who come to the nation due to its high-paying jobs relative to their home. Alternately, many are also expatriates sent by companies to help capitalize on the wealthy market, though the other considerations also apply. Once they have earned enough money or reached the age of retirement, they go back home, letting new foreign workers take their place. This approach has advantages, such as a limited effect on the city’s culture, but also creates issues such as sustainability.
Advantages
Abu Dhabi can rely on a steady flow of highly skilled foreign specialists in all of its various industries, most importantly education. They can construct modern systems and ensure that the city stays at the forefront of technological progress worldwide. Even after the specialist in question departs, these systems will remain in place, meaning that the specialists will likely contribute more to the city than they receive from it in pay. Moreover, the foreign educators attracted to UAE’s institutions can help it develop its own human capital, eventually reducing its reliance on foreign workers for intellectual assistance. With that said, the size of the UAE’s economy means that it is still reliant on foreign workers to sustain it unless it can dramatically expand its population. Such an event is unlikely to take place given the current policy of Abu Dhabi’s government, which is strongly against naturalization.
Another advantage of the large amounts of immigration into Abu Dhabi is the increase in labor supply, which subsequently drives its price down. López (2016) claims that this advantage makes the UAE’s private sector more profitable, driving foreign investment and further benefiting the nation. As a prominent center of economic activity where a large proportion of UAE’s immigrants are concentrated, Abu Dhabi benefits particularly strongly from this effect. Moreover, a feedback loop effect is created, where economic prosperity attracts foreign workers, who proceed to directly and indirectly enhance said prosperity. As a result, the city’s economy has grown dramatically, more than it would have with the oil industry’s help alone. With that said, the situation also leads to some concerns, which will be discussed in the next section.
Issues
The conditions in which the immigrants have to work present cause for concern, as Abu Dhabi is making little effort to accommodate them. While the influx of low-skilled laborers to the city drives down prices, López (2016) cites labor conditions and human rights complaints by UAE’s trade partners, the WTO, and various international organizations. They have to live in unattractive conditions, which the nations from which workers come may not tolerate indefinitely. Moreover, high-skilled expatriates encounter issues, as well, as they cannot own real estate and have to live in government-mandated rental housing locations that have limited parking and public traffic accommodations (Reem Bani Hashim, 2018). Overall, the city appears to have created limited incentives for people to stay beyond the promise of high pay. As such, if they see better opportunities elsewhere, there is little stopping them from leaving.
Moreover, as a nation that depends heavily on oil and gas for its prosperity, the UAE has to consider realistic scenarios where such opportunities may emerge. The nation’s resources are limited and will eventually run out, not to mention the possibility of price drops and the rapid GDP drops they can cause. In such a scenario, many of the expatriates will leave, seeing no reason to work for the nation that does not extend any goodwill to them in return. Their departure will lead to the collapse of industries designed to support them, creating a feedback loop opposite to that described above. The imbalances of the UAE’s immigration framework lead it to be inherently unstable, compounding the country’s dependence on a resource that is prone to fluctuations in value. As one of the primary centers of oil and gas trade, Abu Dhabi will be affected by any related event’s effects more strongly than much of the rest of the nation.
Conclusion
Abu Dhabi has built its current prosperity in large part due to the efforts of immigrant and expatriate workers. Recognizing that fact, it has created substantial incentives for them to come to the city and benefit it with their labor. However, by limiting citizenship severely, Abu Dhabi has created a situation where the well-being of a large part of its population is not dependent on the city’s financial health. As such, while it benefits from foreign labor when the economy is on the rise due to ongoing exploration of its oil and gas reserves, the opposite can take place if a downturn begins. People with little to no possessions in the nation will leave if it is no longer attractive to remain, which is a real possibility given the city’s dependence on oil and gas. Overall, the immigration situation in Abu Dhabi is an ongoing concern that the administration should address before it is too late.
Reference List
López, M. H. (2016) Adjusting to a world in motion: trends in global migration and migration policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lori, N. (2019) Offshore citizens: permanent temporary status in the Gulf. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Reem Bani Hashim, A. (2018) Planning Abu Dhabi: an urban history. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis.