2/10/2018
Qatar Chamber, in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior (MoI), hosted a seminar on the Qatar Visa Centres (QVC) to inform private sector stakeholders on the services provided by the QVCs abroad, such as fingerprinting and biometrics, medical examination, and signing contracts for expatriates.
Director of Visa Support Services at the Ministry of Interior Major Abdulla al-Muhannadi said the project aims to finalise the procedures of the recruitment of expatriate workers from outside the State of Qatar through accredited centres, which will be initially opened in Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
He said the project aims to facilitate the procedures of recruitment, preservation and protection of the rights of expatriates, documenting employment contracts, avoiding cases of non-eligibility of expatriates, ensuring the application of best practices, speeding up employment immediately upon arrival in Qatar, and the provision of integrated and efficient electronic services.
Al-Muhannadi said the procedures start from the registration of the applicant through the MoI website and Metrash 2 application, then submitting the application, and paying the fees to determine the date of examinations. He said the expatriates workers can go to QVCs in their country to review and sign, in addition to fingerprinting and registration of vital data and medical examinations.
He stressed that the contracts will be documented by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, before issuing the visa for the expatriate worker.
Qatar Chamber director general Saleh bin Hamad al-Sharqi said the QVCs would facilitate the recruitment of expatriate workers for Qatari businessmen and companies, adding that all procedures will be carried out through visa centres outside the State of Qatar, ensuring the validity of the visa and speeding up employment immediately upon arrival in Qatar.
Al-Sharqi said Qatar Chamber will continue to co-ordinate with the MoI to host awareness seminars about QVCs outside Qatar to raise awareness among private sector stakeholders. Qatar has completed all preparations for the opening of the first QVC outside the state as part of the first phase of the new recruitment mechanism involving a number of stakeholders.
The first QVC will be opened in Sri Lanka on October 12, and the remaining centres will be opened in eight countries over the next few months.
The centres will operate according to an integrated electronic system for the implementation of procedures of medical examinations, fingerprint and biometrics, vital data, and the signing of work contracts for expatriates outside the state, under the supervision and follow-up of the authorities concerned in Qatar.
