Gulf Times article - Full Details of new Immigration Fees etc
QR10 exit permit fee imposed
Published: Wednesday, 26 December, 2007, 03:24 AM Doha Time
By K T Chacko
THE Ministry of Interior hiked the charges for some of its services with effect from yesterday and introduced a fee of QR10 for issuing an exit permit, which was so far issued free of cost.
According to the Interior Minister’s Decision No. 19 of 2007, frequent travellers can get a multiple exit permit for an annual fee of QR500.
For the cancellation of such a permit the same amount will be charged.
As per the new decision, identity (ID) cards have become costlier by 100%. The new charge for issuing the ID card is QR100. For replacing a lost card, the owner will have to pay QR200.
The residence permit (RP) fee for a child sponsored by the parent has been raised to QR400. The same amount will be charged for the RP of infants as well.
However, those who renew their children’s visa for a period of three years will be given a discount of 20%.
Dependants who stay beyond the stipulated six months outside Qatar will be charged an additional QR500 for their return to the country.
The renewal fee for worker’s visa (RP) continues to be QR1,000.
Foreigners who invest in Qatar and Qatari real estate owners will also be issued residence permits for an annual fee of QR1,000.
Expatriates may be granted permission to take up part-time work outside after their working hours with their sponsors for a monthly fee of QR100. Before applying for such a permission, they will have to secure the approval of their sponsors.
For transferring the visa from an old passport to a new one, the fee has been raised from QR50 to QR100. To effect changes in the name, nationality and designation, the new fee is QR200.
Those who want their entry visa to be changed into work visa without leaving the country will have to pay QR500. For changing the sponsor before the visa is stamped in the passport, an expatriate worker has to pay a fee of QR300.
Students who get dual residency in another GCC country will have to pay an annual fee of QR500. For employees under company sponsorship, the fee for dual residency permit will be QR2,000.
Cancellation of RPs of dependants will cost QR20 and cancellation of worker’s visa QR50.
Foreigners who want to recruit domestic servants have to pay a fee of QR1,500.
Expatriates who want to change their sponsors will be charged QR1,000 for the first time, QR1,500 for the second time and QR2,000 for the third change. For firms, the fee for changing sponsors will be QR2,000, QR2,500 and QR3,000 for the first, second and third times, respectively.
Business visas, extendable up to three months, will be issued for a fee of QR200 for each month.
Visit visas for relatives, extendable up to six months, will be charged QR200 a month.
Non-extendable tourist visas for a month will cost QR100. Visit visas for GCC residents, extendable up to three months, will be also charged QR100 for every month.
A transit visa, valid for a maximum period of 48 hours, will cost QR100.
A resident who loses his visa while abroad will be charged QR200 for issuing a return visa to Qatar.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=192082...
However, Qatar is dependant on imports and I do think it would e better for them to extend their own produce.
The silly thing I heard is that all things from Saudi go to Dubai and then are distributed from Dubai this costs of course more don't you think??
and many many poor workers count on eggs as their main source of protein.
To tell the truth, it is not feasible to count on local agricultural production. The cost here is very high, although the government is contributing to farmers in different ways.
I would advise to invest in many farms outside the country and in various geographic locations. The business is always good as an investment and in case of certain crisis, Qatar will have the priority to import those farms products.
The problem also is that most business persons who are mainly in import business have different calculations and concerns. Remember the heaters crisis of last year. Nobody worried about arranging a quick shipment at that time. Me persoanlly, have been looking for an average-sized upright freezer for 6 months and nothing was available in the market untill recently. If I were in the business of food import, would go to Lebanon, for example, order a huge consignment of eggs and have it here by airfreight (costs about 3 QRs/kilo). So the problem is not really about local production, rather it is a matter of sourcing and taking quick and proper actions.
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http://www.qatarliving.com/node/58409
I do see that it is necessary to pay fees for passports visas etc. it is only just and normal, and Qatar has improved its system a great deal not to mention pulling up rapidly. However, no expat agrees with the exit permit (I don't care, I manage if I want something) however, under the growing tension because of this peprmit it is was not a wise decision on the part of the government, this was mentioned in the Gulf Times of today (no direct criticism of course) just that the expats were increasingly disturbed about the matter.
Qatar although has the name of an independant state it can never be, unless it does something about the agricultural side - chicken farms, dairy farms, vegetable production. Unfortunately, for all their trying to catch up with Dubai if a real crises arises in Saudi as it has just now, we can't find eggs here. What will happen with the Mad Cow Disease?
No eggs, means cakes will/did get expensive, certain types of bread etc. etc. and these prices will never go down again. With the poplualtion having increased to nearly one million from and early three hundred thousand this should be of great concern.
So if the government are taking more money then also this should be put to improve the big food picture.
I agree with you.
Usually foreign investors are encouraged by exempting them from taxes/fees. Where as here they are charged more.
And Qatar was a very cheap place to live in. Now it is one of the most expensive places in the area if not the most expensive. Let aside the fact that Consumer Protection department is not active. I cannot understand why the cost of 1 kg potatoes jumped from 1-2 QRs to 5-6 QRs and at the same time I noticed the cost in Abu Dhabi was 2 Riyals. I understand that the cost of milk and dairy products did rise internationally and that is reflected on related products in the local market.
In addition, the cost of utilities here is very high and that drains a lot of the income.
Finally, I am surprised to notice the exit permit fees imposed when the rumors are about cancelling the concept of exit permit. Actually, till now it did not do the purpose of it. Fraudants are still doing some good jobs here and get a legal exit permit to leave the country. Besides, I wonder where in the world except in some of GCC countries they have the exit permit system. This makes us feel we are in an undeclared custody.
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http://www.qatarliving.com/node/58409
1) Wherever you live in a foreign country you have to pay for a visa - no doubt about that and you are right here.
2) Most of the price hike WILL and DO affect people but mainly expats - please do not put this down as just a complaint and it is justified in my opinion 13% inflation.
3) These fees are nothing more than an income tax which is imposed mainly on the expats - don't kid us here and the fee for the exit permit is ridiculous - why will the gouvernment take such a step knowing how all the expats already feel about this permit. Not only can you not get this in one day but as was already mentioned on a thread here it is difficult to make a decision to even travel outside of Doha for the weekend.
4) You are right about rents this has to with greedy landlords and has nothing directly to do with the government, however putting this into the proper perspective they should do something drastic about this - it is no longer a joke and it is hitting people hard to the extent they have existance fears. In two years my rent went up 80% which is already eating more than half my slary.!!!!!
5) Development is for Qatar a good thing and it has grown a great deal even in the three years I have been here but going further on to this subject why does Qatar not try to feed the people (eggs just to mention one small point) (many Qataris have chickens and hens as do my neighbours) don't you think that agriculture would bring something to Qatar.
I am a great lover of Qatar but I am locally employed and struggling to pay the rent with a steady cloud of eviction hanging over my head every day if the greedy landlord does not agree to extend the lease term.
I find it very funny that you find it quite funny because if it wasn't so funny it is downright serious.
Qatar cannot be compared to Turkey/Japan/UK in any manner, and again it depends where you want to but property there, and although I have Turkish citizenship I still have to pay and entry visa because I am a British passport Holder. No point in discussing petrol costs as the Gulf is producing oil so petrol is cheap. When I lived in Iran you could get a 2 roomed appartment with kitchen and shower for Euro 500 it was far further advanced than Qatar or the UAE are today and paid much better salaries.
So please don't compare prices with other countries we are all living here!!!!!!!
Your last comment reminded me of the pro golfer who won a Porche at the Qatar Open and then complained that he had to pay for shipment of the car to Argentina.
I find alot of things quite funny.
1) people saying that they won't buy a house in Qatar because they have to pay 1,000QR for a visa.... if you have the money for a house... you can pay the visa... or even if you don't want to... in the UK it's 2,100 QR for an RP and 1,200 in Canada for example.
2) Most of these price hikes won't even affect people, yet people love to complain.
3) People fail to see that this rises (which are no more than 10 pounds on average) are STILL better than paying the extortionate income tax of many countries.
4) somehow people think that there is connection between rental fees and these fees. One goes to a greedy landlord, one goes to a government... no connection there...
For so long Qatar has been a very cheap place to live in. It was a great time. Did people think that it was going to last forever? What fuels development? MONEY.
It's like being given a free car and then complain that there's no petrol in it.
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I think these charges are their form of "taxes" sugarcoated as "fees"... I bet by next year, they will change all of these to real taxes... As it is, these fees are already "TAXING" us by paying them over and above the ALREADY HIGH RENTAL FEES we pay just be "living" here in Qatar... Then again, you still have the air you breathe for "FREE"....
here in Qatar than where he is in Turkey when it comes to RP and owning a property.
Maybe Qatar is just getting 'up to speed' with what goes on in other countries. Well, except for the exit visa thing ...
"Foreigners who invest in Qatar and Qatari real estate owners will also be issued residence permits for an annual fee of QR1,000."
Will this apply to expatriates who have bought property in freehold places like the Pearl and Zigzag etc???.....How frustrating is that!?
so you cant ran away from your employer.
Why do we need an exit permit first of all?
Yes we do. We have a five year residence permit that costs in the region of £900 for the five years so it's more expensive than Qatar by far.
For that we can
1. Import our freight (which is heavily taxed)
2. Buy a car. Car tax last year was about £210, Diesel is just about £1.09 a litre and petrol is about £1.35 per litre
3. Have the telephone in our name
4. We can also now use the state health service at the same cost as Turks.
We are NOT allowed to work without a work permit (costs £3,000 for 5 years) and is very difficult to obtain.
I mean the fees aren't THAT large, but that makes it even more peculiar ...
The RP cost per annum for someone who buys property here, and as such invests in Qatar, is almost a slap in the face! (maybe too strong an expression, but as a property owner in Turkey, do YOU have to pay each year a resident's permit?) I don't know too much about this stuff.
I cannot see the logic in some of those decisions.
I thought that Qatar needed labour but the above decisions make me wonder.
Jauntie, maybe a new medical that includes the measuring of lung capacity will be intoduced.
The country certainly doesn't need the money so why these changes?
but u 2 do booking or dey olwyz hav plce if u constant cstomr? ;-)
:D
homuch must 2 pay 2 govermnt 2 mek new law 2 cansil exit permit?
Some fees are still the same like annual exit permit and six months extension outside Qatar.
Annual fees for relatives visa was 500 and think it is now reduced to 400
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http://www.qatarliving.com/node/58409
It is 1000 Riyals for each person's RP who has bought property in Qatar.
So that means 2000 Riyals per year for husband and a wife. And if you have more than one wife, you are doomed. Speaking of polygamy if one has four wives and he buys property in Qatar will he be given RP for all four wives or just one wife.
Anyone who wants to take a shot at my query?
as the future doesnt look too bright. Heard that Government's medical coverage for expats will be phased out soon and will be replaced by private insurance companies.
Better buy some more property and rent it out.
The strangest thing is that if you buy property in Qatar you still have to pay 1000 QR annually for the RP for yourself and your wife.
So all my plans to invest in Qatar are off the charts.
SS
There's always the air that you breath - they haven't taxed that YET!
Only two things are certain in this life, my friend, Death and Taxes :D
we will pay tax for earning and living here thats all left now.
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