Jordanian expatriates in Qatar send home $22 million during Eid

AMMAN —  The value of remittances by Jordanian expatriates in Qatar during the Eid Al Adha holiday reached about $22 million (JD15.6 million), showing a slight increase of 4.54 per cent compared with the same period in 2023 when remittances amounted to about $21 million (JD14.8 million).

Officials and employees from various exchange companies and money transfer institutions in Doha on Sunday reported that remittances from the Jordanian community and other expatriates in Qatar saw a significant increase during Eid Al Adha and other holidays compared with other times of the year, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

They noted that the increase in remittances from Jordanian expatriate workers usually starts gradually two to three weeks before Eid Al Adha, contributing to a significant increase in remittance rates during the holiday period compared with regular times.

Several expatriate Jordanians regularly send a portion of their earnings to their families in Jordan, especially during the holidays, to cover festive expenses, pay off loans and debts, or meet specific obligations and other financial needs.

Most Jordanians prefer to use currency exchange companies to send money to the Kingdom because of the lower fees compared with banks. 

The volume of remittances from Jordanian workers in Qatar has been steadily increasing, in line with the growing number of Jordanians living in Qatar, which now stands at around 75,000, up from 50,000 a few years ago.

This increase is partly due to Qatar's initiative to employ Jordanian youth, which was launched in two phases. The first phase, which started in 2018, saw around 10,000 Jordanians employed in both the government and private sectors in Qatar. The second phase, launched in 2020, aims to gradually provide a similar number of job opportunities.

Jordanians in Qatar work in various sectors, with significant representation in finance and banking, real estate and construction, hospitality, tourism, food services, service companies and information technology. 

They are also employed in the government education and health sectors, as well as in private educational and medical institutions.