Migrant-Workers.org released an article highlighting the plight of migrant domestic workers in the UAE. The article focuses on the recruitment process for migrant workers designed mainly by recruitment agencies, which is likely to constitute human trafficking and expose migrant workers in poor working conditions close to forced labor and modern slavery.

The article says that domestic migrant workers are often forced to pay large sums of money to various recruitment agents (up to about USD 4000 in some cases) whether in their country or in the host country in order for these recruitment agents to facilitate their travel. Usually, these agencies bring in workers to the UAE through a visit visa that can later be converted into a work visa. This leaves workers without protection under the UAE labor law. And since their migration to the UAE is considered illegal, they often do not benefit from consular assistance from their embassies. Add to that, they do not benefit from minimum wage protection as the minimum wage is usually determined by the country of origin, and the UAE labour law does not contain minimum wage regulation.

According to the article, shutting down of the private recruitment agencies that bring domestic workers the UAE on visit visas may address the scale of the problem. It is also important to emphasize that the ease of obtaining visit visas to the UAE is likely to be exploited by illegal recruiters, who may use the UAE as a hub for deploying migrant workers to other GCC countries،

The practice of the private recruitment agencies is still happening despite the UAE government supposedly took steps and ordered the closure of these agencies in January 2021.