also called Gulf sponsorship · kafala system · kafeel · sponsorship system · sponsorship system Gulf
The Gulf and wider Middle Eastern sponsorship system that binds a foreign worker's residence and right to work to one named sponsor, the kafeel, usually an employer.
Kafala is the sponsorship system across the Gulf and parts of the wider Middle East that ties a foreign worker's right to live and work to one named sponsor, usually the employer. Under it, changing jobs and, historically, even leaving the country could depend on that sponsor agreeing. Several countries have softened the harshest parts, but the basic link between your legal status and one person or company still shapes daily life, which is why self-sponsored routes are so prized.
You take a job in a Gulf country and later want to move to a better one, then realise your ability to switch runs through your current sponsor's consent, not just your own choice. Before you sign anywhere, you check whether that country still runs classic kafala or has loosened it, because it decides how much freedom the job actually leaves you.
Under kafala your ability to change jobs, and historically to leave the country, could depend on your sponsor's consent. Several states have reformed the harshest parts, but the core link between your status and one sponsor still shapes life in the region, which is exactly why self-sponsored routes are prized. Know whether the country you are eyeing still runs classic kafala or has loosened it.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These describe how a foreigner legally lives in the Gulf.
Kafala is the sponsorship system that ties your residence and right to work to one named sponsor, usually an employer, and an iqama is the residence permit and ID card you hold once that visa is issued.
Premium Residency is Saudi Arabia's paid route, nicknamed the Saudi Green Card, that lets you live and own property without a local sponsor.
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