The decision affects India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, which make up the bulk of the unskilled workforce in the UAE.

The move was ``in line with the (labour) ministry's efforts to rectify the demographic imbalance in the labour force,'' an official source told the Gulf Today newspaper. It was to take effect on Sunday.

Foreigners account for as much as 85 percent of the UAE's 2.7 million population and more than 90 percent of the workforce. The UAE's trading hub of Dubai alone is home to nearly 2,00,000 Indian expatriates. Afghanistan, Iran and the Philippines also have large communities in the Emirates.