Exit Permits: Am I Sixteen Again?

For any Westerner over the age of eighteen, it’s taken for granted that once one reaches the age of majority he can pretty much go where he wants when he wants. In a way, that’s not the case in Qatar for a foreign resident. This is an aspect of residency that takes some getting used to, but it’s not as troublesome as it sounds.

Once one has received his Residency Permit and identification card, he can travel but must first ask permission from the government to leave the country. I recently went to Dubai for a weekend vacation. I arranged the trip a month ahead, so I knew exactly when I was leaving well in advance. About two weeks out, I went to the College’s human resources department. As with most everything, the request for and issuance of Exit Permits is managed by the employer. The form was simple: name, Resident ID number, destination, departure date, return date. Two days before my departure, the permit was finalized and human resources gave me a copy of the verification. When I took off, I carried the document with me but no one ever asked for it. The information is tied to the passport, so they have all the records.

 

It’s not as sinister as it sounds. While there is room for problems, it’s minimal. As long as the government receives twenty-four-hour’s notice travel abroad is easy, and in the Persian Gulf region pretty cheap.

 

So, make sure mommy and daddy know where you’re going and maybe they’ll even let you stay out past your curfew.

The Residency Permit (Part Three)

Fingerprinting and Getting a Qatari ID.

After all the fun at the Medical Commission, the rest of the Residency process appears deathly boring. Fingerprints are collected by the Ministry of Interior's Criminal Evidences and Information Department.  Like the Medical Commission, the office is out on the edge of Doha, so a bit of a drive.  But the scene at CEID is much calmer (at least in my experience). There are far fewer people waiting to have their fingerprints taken than to get poked with needles.

For my part, I showed an attendant my paperwork (given to me by my employer), and by virtue of my position was shown to the VIP line.  I felt special, but in reality it only cut about two minutes out of a five-minute-long stay.  One of the men who would take scans of my fingers told me I needed to take a number at the back.  I did -- number 47.  Two seconds later, "number forty-seven please." (As a note, on the other side, I would have had to wait behind two other guys until it was my turn.) The printing itself lasted about four or five minutes.  Multiple scans on each finger, a couple of my whole hand, and that was it.

For most people, once the fingerprinting is complete, it takes about three days for the information to be entered in the national system and confirmed.

As with basically everything discussed on this site so far, everything goes through the employer, and receiving the ID is no different.  Once everything has been verified, the employer will briefly take up the passport and send it to the Ministry of Interior.  Along with the Qatar ID, a copy of the Residency Permit is affixed to the passport, pasted on one of the blank pages.  Within a couple days, new residents receive their passport and new state identification, and a huge hurdle is passed.

As simple as the whole process sounds, be prepared to experience frustration.  Like anywhere, nothing goes perfectly smoothly here.  Expect that something will get messed up, go wrong, or get delayed.  But at some point, you will get it all done...it's just a matter of time.

The Residency Permit (Part Two)

The Medical Commission...Prepare to be Probed.

The visa provided by the employers was the first step, so the road to Residency begins before one arrives.  A couple weeks after arrival, an examination at the Medical Commission is next.  There, one must give a blood sample (to check for communicable diseases, such as Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, etc.) and submit to a chest x-ray (primarily to check for signs of tuberculosis).  If in good health, that's it.
Afterwards, at any local clinic, a card indicating one's blood type will be acquired.

Sounds so easy.

Actually enduring it all is a different matter.

About two weeks after my arrival in Doha, the College made an appointment for me and two other new instructors at the Medical Commission.  Like most facilities of this type, it is split into separate sides for men and women.  Our driver dropped the two ladies off first, and the place looked pretty sedate.  Then, around the corner was the men's side and what looked like a mix of carnival and stockyard.  The male-to-female ratio in Qatar is something like two men for every one woman (an unfortunate fact for single men like me), meaning that there were at least a thousand other men trying to get in for the same exam.  It was a wild scene.

Then there's the issue of where to go first.  Ask someone ahead of the trip because nothing is marked.  There were several lines going into many different doors, and a couple different buildings.  Then, it's difficult to know who's in charge; ask anyone who looks official what to do (be prepared to feel stupid for asking two or three random people before finding the right person).  Because of my position, once I found the right person he ushered me past one of the endless lines and into the building to the main reception area.

Once again, by virtue of my status (or in this case by dumb luck), I bypassed the lengthy rows of seats for those waiting and got right up to the window.  Unfortunately for me, someone somewhere had made an error and my photograph had not been loaded into the system, and the clerk said I would have to come back another time.  That, of course, made me anxious -- who knew how long it would take to return, would I get my residency completed in time, and so on.  I waited in a long line to speak with another attendant and received the same reply.  I then waited in the car for an hour or two while the two ladies did their exams.  Interestingly, their photos had not been in the database either, but they found a way through anyhow.

About a week later I went back.  The great consolation the second time around was that I knew where to go and who to speak to.  My initial wait was a bit longer, maybe twenty or thirty minutes; but the rest went (almost disturbingly) smoothly.

Once registered, the next stop is the blood draw.  After a brief wait of perhaps ten minutes, a group was shown the the phlebotomists.  The men who took my blood was a nice Egyptian.  I figure there are occasional faintings because he kept trying to distract me from what was going on.  Five minutes and I was on to the next stage.

Following perhaps a ten minute wait, a group was taken into a room with changing stalls.  Though no official instructed, everyone there followed what the last group did and removed their shirts for the x-ray.  Personally, it was a little awkward standing in line with a bunch of other topless strangers, but that's life.  Within five minutes I was gruffly brought into the x-ray room where they took an image and tossed me right back out.

And that was it.  It had all gone so fast it convinced me that something was missing.  I asked around to be sure, and finally one of the official doctors said I was done.  I was in an out in about an hour.

So be ready for an uncomfortable, and possibly frustrating, experience.  But once it's done, it's done.

The next post will take a look at the last steps in the Residency process.

The Residency Permit (Part One)

The United States are one of the few countries in the world today loosening their policies regarding non-nationals entering and living in the country.  In Qatar, this aspect of governance is, understandably, highly regulated.  Anyone intending to take a long-term position in the state will, within short order, need to acquire a Residency Permit to stay for any length of time over a couple weeks.

Like so many things in Qatar, the process is both simple and difficult all at once.  As long as one has a position, no criminal background, and is not coughing blood all over the place, obtaining a Residency Permit is basically assured.  Getting through the process is another matter.

As previously mentioned regarding entrance visas, the Residency Permit will be obtained by way of an employer.  That simplifies the whole matter: the employer wants the new employee, and the new employee wants the job -- everyone has the same goal.  Employers handle all the paperwork and contact with the government, so on that, no worries.

A quick note before discussing the details: be prepared to wait, but know that it will get done.  Anyone from the United States has grown accustomed to the idea that things tend to happen in a fairly orderly and timely fashion.  That is not the case here.  At the same time, if something must be done, it will.

In the next post, I will explain the first step: an exam at the Medical Commission.  After that follows fingerprinting and actually getting the Qatar resident ID.