Iqama

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɪˈkɑːmə/

Definitions

1. A legal document that provides authorization for residency, typically associated with employment or study, and indicates one’s compliance with local immigration laws
2. A certificate that grants a foreign individual the right to reside and work in a host country while fulfilling specific legal requirements
3. A formal permit issued to non-citizens, allowing them to live and work in a specific country under adherence to immigration regulations

Etymology: The Arabic "iqāma" is a verbal noun built from the verb "aqāma", meaning "to cause to stand" or "to establish", and in its everyday sense it means residence or staying in a place. That is the thread running through the English word: a permit for foreigners is, at root, a document that lets someone remain or "stand" in a country for a set period. English borrowed the word directly from Arabic. Its use in English is tied to the modern practice of regulating who may live in a country, most familiar in the Gulf states, where the iqama is the residence permit that foreign workers carry and that must be renewed. The word therefore names a bureaucratic document rather than a physical act of staying, even though the meaning of residence is still visible in its root.