Trump's H-1B visa fee could have one big winner: The Middle East

The Middle East could look arsenic the large beneficiary of U.S. President Donald Trump's program for higher H-1B visa fees.

The Gulf region's sustained propulsion to go the adjacent planetary artificial quality hub – which is drafting billions of dollars of concern from section sovereign wealthiness funds, planetary backstage equity and U.S. Big Tech – could spot it outflank different geographies hoping to drawback up overseas expertise caught up successful the uncertainty.

Investors highlighted however governments are driving technology-focused nationalist strategies – specified arsenic Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and the UAE's National AI Strategy – and creating a business-friendly situation for tech firms with semipermanent aureate visas for skilled professionals, reduced regulations and different incentives for entrepreneurs.

"Gulf countries, peculiarly Saudi Arabia, are offering comp packages among the highest successful the satellite to seizure apical AI-talent from Silicon Valley," said Francesco Filia, CEO of Fasanara Capital.

Filia said tech pros are drawn to the Middle East by a premix of top-tier compensation, a tax-friendly environment, and the accidental to enactment connected large-scale, innovative projects.

"The Gulf besides offers a cosmopolitan manner with high-quality infrastructure and entree to everything Asia has to offer," Filia told CNBC.

While details of White House plans to necessitate companies to wage a $100,000 interest connected H1-B applications stay unclear, the determination is expected to intensify the global warfare for tech talent.

"Tech companies successful the UAE find the flexibility of the labour marketplace for hiring apical overseas endowment to beryllium a cardinal advantage," Zachary Cefaratti, founder and enforcement radical president of Dalma Capital, told CNBC.

"The interaction of expanding overseas labour limitations successful different countries lone increases the UAE's comparative attractiveness arsenic a endowment hub" helium added.

The U.K. and Europe, whose tech sectors person a comparative deficiency of enactment and funding, could conflict to pull cardinal expertise, portion the often-hostile code underpinning the nationalist statement astir migration could enactment disconnected prospective hires coming to the region.

"In the UAE, talented radical are welcomed with unfastened arms," Simon Hopkins, CEO of Milltrust International Group, told CNBC. "The U.S. and the U.K. person some changeable themselves successful the ft with ill-considered migration policies. The absorption should beryllium connected eliminating amerciable migration — not driving distant invaluable contributors to economical success."

Hopkins said mobility volition beryllium a cardinal operator of the planetary system and volition yet assistance signifier its winners and losers.

"What sets the UAE isolated is its quality to harvester ambition with infrastructure, creating an situation wherever innovation moves rapidly and gains existent traction," Amina Taher, CMO astatine integer fiscal level Wio Bank, told CNBC.

The UAE, which struggled to clasp endowment extracurricular of the lipid and state manufacture astir 15 years ago, has since built a commercialized and fiscal hub that it hopes volition rival London and New York.

"Increasingly, apical exertion and fintech endowment spot the portion not conscionable arsenic a stepping stone, but arsenic a spot to build, grow, and lend meaningfully," Taher said.

At the forefront of the UAE's strategy are its visa options, ranging from options for creators, freelancers and self-employed workers to the coveted Golden Visa, a 10-year stamp that is not tied to an employer.

In April, Saudi Arabia unveiled a National Skills Platform aimed astatine strengthening its workforce grooming and development, arsenic portion of a wider strategy to code planetary shifts arising from AI and automation.

"Saudi Arabia's futuristic NEOM city and the UAE's AI-powered astute metropolis projects connection unique, large-scale opportunities for tech pros," Filia said. "Working connected these state-of-the-art information centres being built volition bid a caller procreation to enactment AI-driven municipality development, fintech, and logistics."

While countries similar the UAE and Saudi Arabia could basal to payment from uncertainly surrounding Trump's caller labour policies, not each endowment volition flock to the Gulf.

Michael Stull, managing director, ManpowerGroup UK, said determination is not a important pathway into citizenship successful galore of the Gulf states.

"You volition inactive beryllium considered to beryllium connected the edge, and not portion of the country. So there's a small insecurity that radical consciousness there," Stull told told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" connected Friday.

Israel's warfare against Hamas has brought Gulf states similar Qatar directly into the crossfire, raising doubts implicit the stableness and information of the portion for galore looking to relocate. The UAE's geography alone, crossed the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, caused concerns this summertime erstwhile Iran and Israel traded nonstop fire, reminding residents crossed the Gulf that the portion inactive indispensable contend with the stableness of its neighbors.