What makes Kuwait's move so striking is that the rest of the Gulf has spent the last five years moving decisively in the opposite direction — and for reasons that have nothing to do with conscience. Qatar, under the sustained commercial pressure of World Cup scrutiny, eliminated exit permit requirements for most workers in 2020. The UAE has significantly loosened job-change restrictions, and Bahrain has done the same. These were pragmatic, strategic pivots by governments that understood something important: if you want to attract the global professional class — the fund managers, the architects, the regional directors choosing between Dubai and Singapore — you cannot run a labor system that treats people as controlled assets.
