Paper short abstract:

A lack of border crossing mobility for holders of weak passports, influences their ability to maintain middle-class status, creating a desire for obtaining "second passports". The lack of funds hinders outright purchase of passports, and the paper examines the in-between solutions.

Paper long abstract:

Expatriate workers live precariously in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Temporary residential

permits tied up to employment status ensure that any expatriate must live

with the knowledge of potentially leaving on short notice. During the

beginning of the current blockade of Qatar, Egyptian expats explored potential

strategies to secure their futures as they felt caught between states

after Egypt cut all diplomatic ties to Qatar. As they hold weak passports they find their middle-class lifestyle place bound in Qatar, and are looking for ways to ensure their ability to maintain their status. Through engaging with their

desires for second passports, the paper explores the ways middle class

Egyptians view increased access to border-crossing mobility as securing

their futures.

Focusing on middle class Egyptian expatriate workers in the Arab Gulf

makes for an interesting lens into how privilege is constructed.

Economically they are part of a global middle class but as holders of

"weak passports" they are hindered from a type of easy mobility often

associated with the term "expat". Although they are middle class, they do not have access to the money required to right out "purchase" a new passport, and so they resort to in-between solutions such as investor residencies, or juggling multiple visas. This paper maps out the complex

structure of privilege constructed between economy, citizenship and

borders in the Arab Gulf.