In a special alert released overnight on 16 March, Big-Four firm EY cautioned Irish employers that renewed hostilities in the Gulf could derail business-travel plans and “trigger rapid redeployment of assignees” over the coming fortnight. The advisory notes that several Gulf immigration offices are already operating with skeleton staff and that biometric appointments for Irish work-permit holders in Qatar and the UAE are being postponed at short notice. EY urges companies to map critical functions, pre-approve emergency remote-work arrangements and budget for hotel-to-office shuttle services that avoid high-risk zones. Tax and social-security exposure should also be reviewed if personnel remain outside their host jurisdictions longer than 183 days. The firm highlights that Irish, EU and UK nationals enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to most GCC states, but warns that delayed security-clearance letters could still block airport entry.
![EY warns Irish multinationals of mobility fallout from escalating Middle-East conflict]()
For immediate, on-the-ground visa intelligence and processing assistance, Irish employers can tap VisaHQ’s dedicated platform (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/). The service tracks real-time GCC entry requirements, secures express e-visas where available and handles document legalisation, giving mobility teams a reliable back-up when redeployments must happen at speed.
For mobility teams the guidance is a prompt to audit travel-risk insurance, confirm evacuation triggers with vendors and communicate contingency pay-roll instructions. EY recommends leaning on Ireland’s extensive double-tax treaty network—particularly with the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait—to mitigate unplanned permanent-establishment risk when staff relocate. Irish headquartered construction, energy and tech firms have thousands of staff in the region, many on short-cycle assignments tied to Expo City Dubai and Saudi Vision 2030 projects. Companies are therefore advised to convene cross-functional crisis cells gathering HR, security, tax and legal stakeholders.
For immediate, on-the-ground visa intelligence and processing assistance, Irish employers can tap VisaHQ’s dedicated platform (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/). The service tracks real-time GCC entry requirements, secures express e-visas where available and handles document legalisation, giving mobility teams a reliable back-up when redeployments must happen at speed.
For mobility teams the guidance is a prompt to audit travel-risk insurance, confirm evacuation triggers with vendors and communicate contingency pay-roll instructions. EY recommends leaning on Ireland’s extensive double-tax treaty network—particularly with the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait—to mitigate unplanned permanent-establishment risk when staff relocate. Irish headquartered construction, energy and tech firms have thousands of staff in the region, many on short-cycle assignments tied to Expo City Dubai and Saudi Vision 2030 projects. Companies are therefore advised to convene cross-functional crisis cells gathering HR, security, tax and legal stakeholders.
