Plea for family visa term review

Plea for family visa term review
The recent decision by the authorities to increase the salary prerequisite for those applying for family visas from QR4,000 to QR7,000 a month has become a source of worry and anxiety for a large number of expatriates, says a report published in the local Arabic daily al-Arab.
Many of the expatriates interviewed by the daily expressed dismay on this decision which they felt had perhaps been taken before the global financial crisis set in.
The decision has not taken into account several other factors and does not reflect the current reality of the fall in rents and the overall reduction in the cost of living, they said.
Those who were eagerly waiting for their families to join them feel very depressed because of their inability to fulfill the salary prerequisite. It will affect their productivity and their overall attitude to life because they will have to live here as bachelors in spite of being married.
It will also lead to an enormous increase in the male population in Qatar and create an unhealthy social climate in a tradition loving country, says the report.
There is also bound to be a shortage of accommodation for single males.
Expressing deep anguish and disappointment one expatriate told the daily, “I know many of my married friends who had submitted their applications for family visas after fulfilling all the required conditions and had taken apartments on rent in the hope of having their families with them. But their applications were rejected at the last moment because of the hike in the salary prerequisite.”
There was an overwhelming plea from the expatriates who spoke to the daily that the authorities should reconsider this decision in the light of the new ground realities.