Getting a Driver's License (Part One)

Prepare to be Annoyed (if You're American).

If you're an American and enjoy being frustrated and annoyed, then try to get your driver's license in Qatar.

If you're British or from a number of Western nations, the process for getting a driver's license here is (almost shockingly) easy.  About a month-and-a-half ago, a friend and I initiated the process to get our licenses -- basically on the same day.  The only difference between us was nationality: he's British, I'm American.  For most Westerners, all one must do is fill out an application, get a "no objection" letter from his employer, show a current driver's license from his country of origin, and he receives a Qatari license.

While that used to be the case up until about two years ago, Americans must now go through an additional level of scrutiny.  The rumor about Doha is that some sheik studying in the United States a couple years wanted a driver's license there, was required to do a series of driving tests, and so when he returned home to Qatar he called up a relative and demanded the same rules be applied to Americans here.  A believable, if not totally accurate story.

The New Traffic Department Building

For my British friend, it took about an hour-and-a-half hours to get down to the traffic department, submit the paperwork, get the license, and go back to his apartment.

The equivalent for me took about a month-and-a-half.

In the case of almost everyone in Qatar, the employer must create a "no objection" letter saying they don't mind.  I acquired that back in March.  Once that and the application are readied, the applicant must get an optical exam which can be conducted by any approved optometrist.  I did that about two weeks after I got the paperwork.  That's when Doha-delays set in.

At first it seemed as though wasta would provide some ease in the procedure.  There are several Qataris at the College with whom I have developed a good working relationship.  Qataris seem to know almost every other citizen in the country (and if they don't already, they just make a new friend; additionally, everyone has an uncle or cousin in every government ministry or office.  So I consulted with one of my citizen-associates and, just as I hoped, he had a friend in the Traffic Department.  Sounded like things were going to get through with ease.

My associate took my paperwork and said he would give it to his friend who would convert my license.  A week later, he said we needed to go get an eye exam and we went that night.  I thought we would go straight to the licensing office after, but instead we spent three hours in his majlis (which was actually pretty interesting, if not productive).  The next day, we went to the Traffic Department and found that there was no way around the rules -- I needed to go to driving school.