Crisis in EU nations drives many to Qatar

Citizens of European countries that are facing economic crises are increasingly making their way to Qatar to work and live here with their families in a relatively stable environment.

Construction and civil aviation are among the sectors that are attracting a large number of workers from Europe. This is the case with Spaniards living in Qatar, whose number has grown in the past year to 1,100.

These Spanish nationals have moved to Doha mainly to work in the above mentioned fields. There are a large number of pilots who have joined Qatar Airways after leaving troubled airlines in Spain or due to difficulties that other companies are going through.

The construction industry has also attracted many professionals, such as architects, engineers and designers.

Many professionals travel to Qatar on a tourist visa and stay with family or friends for one or two months to hunt for a job here. This is the case with Maria, from Spain, who is visiting her cousin and looking for a job in the media. “I have been here for a month and a half and I’ll stay until my tourist visa expires. If I don’t find anything in the meantime, my plan is to return next year to keep looking,” she stated.

There are also European professionals who move to Doha to join their family here and are forced to pause their career in their home country. For many in this situation, language becomes the main obstacle to getting a job.

This is the case with Laura, from Italy, who is having trouble finding a job because she doesn’t speak English well. “I have been taking classes for two months, and when I feel confident enough I will start looking seriously. I have worked in the banking sector all my life and my intention is to continue in this field,” she said.

There are around 900 Italians living in Qatar, a number that, an Italian embassy official informed, has increased only slightly since 2011.

The Italian nationals in Qatar are employed in almost all sectors, including engineering and construction, airlines, sports/sports medicine, healthcare, law, hydrocarbons and petrochemicals, hospitality, education, and interior designing.

On the other hand, the number of Greek nationals living in Qatar has gone up and, as of October this year, was 870. The Greek embassy estimates that this figure has grown by approximately 10 percent since 2011 due to three main reasons, the first being the high growth rate of the Qatari economy, which creates job opportunities.

The increase is also linked to Greek construction firms in Qatar that employ hundreds of Greek engineers, as also the economic crisis in Greece.

An embassy official said “it would be very difficult to say which factor is more important.” “Given the high number of Greek engineers based currently in Qatar, I would estimate that the second factor is drawing more people to Qatar,” he said.

“Construction companies get a project in Qatar and hire people in Greece because that is the market they know better. Almost all Greek people employed in Qatar are highly trained, well educated, and with good salaries,” said the official.