Investigative report: Hit and miss stories on migrating from Qatar

Migration has been integral to human history, whether in search of work and economic opportunities, joining family, studying, or moving to a developed country with the possibility of securing permanent residence or citizenship or fleeing strife and wars. In a recent investigation, The Peninsula found out that many people who have attempted to relocate from Qatar to other parts of the world, mainly the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the US, have several stories to tell about hits and misses.

The Peninsula recently surveyed why people migrate from this part of the world, how and what the process entails, the rate at which people are scammed, the top destinations, and exploring immigrants’ experiences.

Global issue 

While most people have positive perceptions about immigrants, there are misconceptions and concerns — some think migrants are a burden on economies.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2019, 270 million people were migrants (people not living in their country of birth), an increase of 120 million since 1990. Workers moving from a poor to a rich economy, internally or across countries, is prevalent. It is a salient issue, with migration very high on many rich countries’ political agendas. 

The Gulf Corridor

The Middle East, especially the rich Arab Gulf countries, is positioned at a vibrant geographical crossroad with revolving transit corridors that send and receive immigrants while functioning as waiting stations for migration flows. Based on 2019 figures, the Gulf is home to about 35 million foreign workers, representing approximately 21% of global figures. 

According to industry specialists, many people from Asia and Africa move to Qatar and the wider Gulf due to security, stability, and higher salaries, which their countries don’t offer. While these factors are palatable, people still leave these countries for Western nations, despite less appealing economic benefits. A significant migration drawback in the region is that Gulf States do not offer permanent residence that easily to immigrants like European or North American countries. 

The Peninsula found out that the number of people applying for immigration to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK picked up more post-FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Even Europeans are exploring going to Canada, an agent quipped.

Consequently, people save up and embark on immigration pathways to the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the US, and here’s where the consultants and agencies come in. Migration is expensive, and agents facilitating this process don’t come cheap either. The Peninsula found out that in Qatar, these agencies charge between QR6,000 to QR30,000, depending on one’s migration pathway. Some may charge more when complications occur, one of the agents said.

Desired destination

Speaking to several immigration consultants in Doha, countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand are the desired destinations because of their friendlier paths to permanent residence and citizenship compared to the UK. Relocation can also be done via the student route. This is explored more by those who fail to meet set scores for Canada, which operates a points system for skilled migration. Besides, academic qualification, work experience, age, medical and industry needs also make or mar the applicant’s chances.

Another requirement for this process is the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to grade the applicant’s English language ability – writing, reading, listening and speaking. The result of which is valid for two years.

The British Council in Qatar, in a statement to The Peninsula, disclosed that since 2017, it has seen an 11% increase in the number of students taking IELTS, adding it has helped close to 100,000 students on their journey to study abroad. 

“The majority of students the British Council works with take Academic IELTS, and a smaller segment take IELTS General Training,” the statement added.

Migrant stories

While there are many success stories, some people have, however, been hard-hit by agents.

“We picked Canada as we had many relatives there. We had initially tried for migration to Canada with an agency here in Doha, they had the worst customer service, and we lost a lot of money due to their negligence and fake promises,” a Doha resident, Victoria, told The Peninsula.

According to Victoria’s account, the agency was late in responding to e-mails and failed to get her into the draw (for Express Entry) at the right time.

“They were irresponsible after taking our payment. We had to go to the office to get our work done as they would never return our calls. They never wanted to refund us; we were so upset with them. We had an awful experience and later discovered we were not the only victims. Many others had the same issues with them.”

After a bad experience with the agency, Victoria tried an agent in Canada, which also ended badly. 

“We tried for higher education with an agent in Canada. He, too, promised to get an offer letter as my skills matched the criteria, and we signed the contract and paid the fees. Soon we got a rejection instead of an offer letter from the college. We never got our hard-earned money back,” she said.

Another Doha resident who failed to qualify for immigration pathways to Canada, Australia or New Zealand also blamed the services of the agency he consulted. He noted that his agent assured him he would be a fit for all three, and he applied for Canada and New Zealand – none sent him an invitation to apply after over a year of waiting. 

For Steve Mathews John, migration was not in his plans when he went to the UK to study. The programme duration, relatively fair entry requirements, especially good IELTS scores, and high regard for UK MSc degrees in the Gulf made him decide to study there. 

“The process was straightforward as I already had my documents ready and attested. If I were to do it again, I would not use an agent, as I previously didn’t know how simple the procedure was,” John said.

He added that prospective students who wish to complete their master’s abroad usually do not weigh up the value the course would bring to their resumes while applying for their dream jobs.  

“Students must research the modules being taught in the course to ensure at least 90% of it is transferable to their future workplaces. They must be aware of the general fees compared to other universities offering the same course. Very often, students end up overpaying for courses based on the university’s high reputation,” he added.

Consultants speak

In the course of this story, The Peninsula discovered that while some agencies were open about their client’s chances, and some even went as far as recommending the student pathway, others were eager to share juicy details laced with promises. 

Agencies providing immigration services are accredited by countries that benefit from this service. Moreover, Qatar is a secure place for customers to demand and receive optimal service – though some agents still get away with clients' money, as Victoria’s experience pointed out.

“There are companies who eventually closed, and then the clients came to us,” Christopher Rod Aquino, Branch Manager, Resettlement Solution, told The Peninsula.

Aquino said in 2021, he received around 10 applicants who had engaged the services of other agents, but he only accepted to work with three, who he deemed better qualified. The three clients are already in Canada. 

Aquino said most of his clients are Filipinos, Pakistanis, Indians, and Egyptians. Then minority would be Africans. He also noted that cases of clients not getting full service after payment exist, but he stressed the problem shouldn’t be placed entirely on the companies. 

“It depends; it’s a case-by-case basis. First things first, when a person starts the process, they know what will happen. They know the requirements and so on. When we do an assessment, we explain their chances, and some insist on doing it even if they don’t qualify, but the chances of getting an invitation in the case of Canada, which is a competitive pool, could be slim.

“When people don’t get it, they would say, ‘you scammed me, you fooled me.’ But that’s human nature.”

No doubt that the regulating authorities are monitoring operations of these consultancy firms in the country and are aware about the concerns of their clients whose complaints, with full details, could not be covered in this investigative report.

However the readers’ interaction with the newspaper about their experiences regarding the immigration consultants and consultancy firms’ response to the report will help The Peninsula to further highlight the subject.