How do I get my girlfriend into Qatar?

Yes i know that :(

That's actually the main reason i am suffering about this visa :)

Check to see if Russians can get a visit visa on arrival - I suspect not because there is a bad reputation (and it doesn't apply to all Russian women) for prostitutes in the GCC from Russia.

@MxY I think all you need for her is a Tourist visa :) contact a travel agent :)

So many different comments, but i still didnt understand if i can invite my GF for a 10 days visit. She is from Russia, and she wants to check out Doha to see if she can commit for something more.

So what are the options? 1- Tourist visa 2-Some kind of visiting visa?

Does she definetely need a booking from a hotel? ( i for sure want her to stay with me). Do i have to pay 10 days for the hotel and she just wont be staying there or just cancel the reservation the 2nd day and keep staying with me? Is this somehow monitored?

Hope someone already experienced all these and helps out. Thanx guys.

Anything to help alleviate the suffering of an Antipodean cousin.

britexpat, how thoughtful of you!!

~*Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret*~

Look, just to help out. I'll marry her and give you visitation rights..

Hey if you luv her enuff marry her

and if you don't why bother to bring her here

You yrself can take vacation and meet her at yr hometown,

Probably by then she will find someone who really loves her..........and that will serve you right

...just becoz you want to bring her here. Marry her for love.

Like many said - Get her a job here and stay together pretending to be married. Decide if the bond is worth the risk.

You don't need to reformat your life for Doha. You just need to improvize.

Source:

- A study Conducted by FriedUnicorn - Vol I (September,1999)

that is part of the reason that i am leaving Doha as soon as I get a job back home

tolerance for Westerners breaking the laws here or even acting in a manner that is considered "against the culture"? I have been here for over 10 years now and have noticed a dramatic difference in the past year or 2. I would be very careful about advising anyone that if they are Western, nobody cares if they break the laws. It's simply not true.

I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM

I couldn't be bothered to read what everyone else has written but it depends where you're from.

If you're European it's easy. She just comes in on a visit visa which lasts for around 30 days. I think you can get it extended if you want to or sometimes you just have to leave the country (to Dubai or Bahrain maybe) and then come back in on a new visa.

Yes,I suppose in reality it is against the law to be living with a female who is not your wife but everyone does it and no one really cares. Of course this would also depend on you having your own accomodation.

Don't listen to people who say she can't stay with you because it's illegal as I said in reality it is but no one cares!

Good Luck!

cohabiting in employer-provided housing. This happened to several people at my work. They are subjecting themselves to deportation by our employer if they break the local law in this regard.

I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM

Just read this and love the way you say " not an option"

Classic, made me laugh!

mjamille and gadarene have given you good advice.

I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM

juncar...not everyone views marriage as "just simply marry her,plain & simple" mate...you don't or shouldn't "simply" marry someone to suit some country's legal requirements when you & your partner aren't ready for it...am i getting through to you here or is this concept of actually getting to know your partner & seeing if you're compatible with him/her BEFORE getting married completely lost on you?...and like gypsy correctly pointed out,there are loads of young,unmarried couples living together in Qatar...everyone knows it,unless you live on a certain river in Egypt *wink*!!...chew on that...

ROLFING! She tells you this even after you pay her Brit?

Are you sure about this.. My GF tells me that its the law here and we have to stay celibate.. :O(.

if you respect her.

Lots of people in Qatar have girlfriends or boyfriends stay overnight and even live with them. So it is an option. Just don't be obnoxious about it so someone complains.

Do you guys honestly think that every couple dating in Doha gets married before they have sex???

marry her first before you bring her here with you.

"ayna Apo nu maammuan iti pulis dtoy dayta ibalud da kayo"

Marry her and bring her with you. You will get a better pay and she'll live with you.

If you come single and she visits, staying overnight or living together isn't an option. If you get caught, it wouldn't be nice.

Good luck.

~*Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret*~

gadarene...the guy wants to bring his partner here and live together...so to make things legal and safe..i advised to just simply marry her... plain and simple.. if he's unsure..just forget the whole idea of bringing the girl over and stay single and bored in doha... :P

"there are so many rumors about me...feel free to believe in any of'em.."

thank you gypsy...@ edifis,you seem to be the type that would rat this guy out in a second if you were his neighbour/colleague mate,sorry no offence meant but it's his life,his girlfriend & none of your business...in that order...

:)

The police aren't going to hassle them unless someone complains. The chances of someone complaining are like 1%.

Shurta=police

What are shurtas?

Because the money's good. Because the job is good. Because they want to experience another culture.

They can stay back in their own country and remain lovers. Why come to a place with stupid laws and be humiliated by the shurtas?

Because they're in love. Because the law is stupid. Thousands of reasons.

Why to take such a risk? when it is against the law of the country.

Who will? Do you think his neighbour is going to ask him to produce a marriage certificate?

Don't you they will ask for the marriage registration certificate. It's not that simple.

Come here and live together or have her visit. When people ask(or even if they don't) say you're married. Lots of people do it.

Then give a wise solution please, Gypsy.

That's the silliest answer yet edifis.

Don't come to Qatar. I think you will not be welcome here, if you bring your girlfriend.

Option 1 - No risk - marry her and bring her

option 2 - Risky - get her a job thru another sponsor

bring her in that sponsors visa

occasionallay (secretive) meet her

also expect police action,if caught

Guys marriage is not the answer to everything. If they aren't ready to be married they aren't ready to be married. JEEZ.

Get marriage n stay happy :P

Well you could bring her on a 1 month tourist visa which she can get on arrival if the passport she's carrying is from one of the 33 countries that the Qatar Govt agrees to...thats pretty simple, just walk into Qatar...

Another option, Hotel/Tourist Visa...

Another option, once you settle in here, and get to know the companies, and you make a few friends in the right places, then try getting her a Business Visa that is valid for what 3 months ...

Or again we come back to getting married...!

Or find her a job here...!

Or you also just stay exactly where you are...!

marry her and wait for the right time to bring her there....

I know God has a good plan for me and my family...

contract between the two parties concerned is considered adultery by all countries in the GCC.

Do people live together here? Yes. Do they run the risk of a vindictive or overzealous neighbour dobbing them in? Yes. The police usually turn a blind eye but WILL act on complaints. Your risk of being "noticed" will be increased if one of you is not a white western/european looking person - that's just the way it works here.

Consequences? Arrest, jailtime, lashes (the last two not usually applied to Westerners)and deportation. The risk of getting caught is probably low, but there have been Westerners behaving stupidly or flagrantly enough that police are forced to act.

If you are going to be housed in company accomodation, be sure that if she shows up, all your colleagues housed in the same compound/block of flats will be well aware of your lack of marriage certificate.

If you are not going into company housing, just tell anyone who asks that you are married - no one will ask to see the marriage certificate.

TheSignature line > "You can't fix stupid"

since you are the one moving away, hopefully you won't be the one to be "out of sight out of mind" because I don't think there are that many unattached girls in Qatar if you find yourself single....

Oh, and you cannot sponsor her. You can help arrange a tourist visa and I believe they can be extended. I've never done it for someone, so I can't say for sure.

Signature line > "You can't fix stupid"

Gypsy said it all......End of discussion

lol Smoke !!

Why not you bring a big ROOF ? :)

JK

Yes she can visit you whenever she wants. She can even stay at your place. It's illegal, but unless you're having really loud obnoxious sex, no one will say anything about it.

thanks everyone.. very interesting..

I'm not going to get involved in the marriage debate.

Can I confirm if she visits as a tourist she will get a one month visa? Are there options for longer?

In the end she has an amazing job where we live currently and I wouldnt want to take that away from her but obviously would be nice for her to have the flexibility/possibility of visting me when I/she wants.

Perfect, smoke. You should be a lawyer.

I think MD is high on something or its just the lack of food coz something just isnt going through to you today my friend.

Perhaps i should say "To have a girl as your friend is not illegal, to want to live with this girl without being legally married to her in the State of Qatar is illegal"

Any of those lines making any sense to you MD?

Good Fortune always comes knocking at your door...when you are sh*tting in the toilet!! :)

_[]~SMoKE~[]_

I don't call this "having a girlfriend", smoke, if I can't have her under one roof. Where do you do it? On the beach?

similar condition here,it was a long distance relationship till i asked him if i can visit him here in qatar but he told me he have to marry me first before i can visit him and then he married me and now i`m staying here with him ...good for us coz no more calls and e-mails to say "hi,how r u?" lol..XD

MD having a gf is not illegal at all, living with her under one roof in THIS country is however. So the problem is not the gf...its the one roof :p

Good Fortune always comes knocking at your door...when you are sh*tting in the toilet!! :)

_[]~SMoKE~[]_

The whole thread explains that having a girlfriend basically is illegal. And now you say it's common. What a funny world we're living in.

which law states that it's illegal to have more than one girlfriend?!...:)

That is quite common in the Middle East also :O)

MD how is getting another GF in Qatar Illegal? I never said keep the first one now did I? :p

Good Fortune always comes knocking at your door...when you are sh*tting in the toilet!! :)

_[]~SMoKE~[]_

LOL! smoke,get another girlfriend in Qatar...isn't that usually what happens?! :)...

Agreed, gadarene.

"Other option...get another gf in Qatar".

Illegal advice, smoke. You should be banned!

MagicDragon,we have diametrically different views on marriage mate,let's agree to disagree on this one...

well some people view the paper marriage business a bit more seriously than others but if it's ok with ers6 & his girlfriend,then that is the best option...smoke you're right about that mate, i was only addressing the issue of having his girlfriend here with him,and he could have his cake & eat it too if he chooses the paper marriage option...

Lets not drive this topic into marriage and divorce moral issues please. Just stick to the topic. Obviously he's not interested in getting married. His gf can come visit him on a visit visa which is valid for what a month? Doesn't she work back home? If she does, its not like she's gonna be flying in and out every month.

Other option...get another gf in Qatar :P

Good Fortune always comes knocking at your door...when you are sh*tting in the toilet!! :)

_[]~SMoKE~[]_

Obviously, gadarene, marriage is a social contract. Both have the right to terminate it if it is not beneficial anymore.

I've been here too long, brit.

it's because divorce rates are so high these days, not to mention the mental trauma that the couple goes through, that more & more young couples all over the world are choosing to live together & see if it works out BEFORE making that commitment to each other...you're saying they just get married anyways & then if it doesn't work out get a divorce & that's a better option???...

Aah! The old paper marriage routine utilized by many in Qatar and Saudi...

Good thinking !

My point is: marry her if necessary, divorce her if necessary.

Bottom line is its illegal, and we are not here to give illegal advice. Two unmarried people can live together, but here his issue is about putting her under the "dependent" tag which i dont think he can do if shes JUST his girlfriend. Simply put you cant have the cake and eat it too.

Good Fortune always comes knocking at your door...when you are sh*tting in the toilet!! :)

_[]~SMoKE~[]_

yes i do magicDragon & your point is?...

gadarene, did you know that there is something called d.i.v.o.r.c.e ??

junarc2003, it's a question of a lifetime commitment..."just marry her"???...like "just go to the corner shop & pick one up eh?"..."and when you're done with it,go get another one i suppose?"...c'mon mate,there's more to it than "JUST" when it comes to one's life partner or at least there should be...ers 6,don't bother with the "oohh it's illegal you'll get arrested" brigade...LOADS of young couples in Qatar are unmarried,the people around them(neighbours included) think they are & only their close friends know they're not & yes they do live happily (ever after sometimes!)...

just marry her...

"there are so many rumors about me...feel free to believe in any of'em.."

here, it is not allowed.. best be careful... some people here, if they know unmarried couples who live together, they rat them out to the police...

find her a job here,it's the only option if you're not yet ready to get married mate...& you guys can live together,yes it's illegal but if the authorities were to arrest & deport every unmarried couple living together in Qatar,suffice to say there would be a significant drop in the working population of Qatar...hope this helps...i feel for you mate...

so its illegal for guy and girl to live together?..Surely not.

I guess the greter issue is that my place of work won't be able to add my girlf as a dependant to my sponsorship.

Does anyone know for how long I can get her a visa for Qatar? eg if she flew in/out as a tourist.

Even if you can bring her you still cannot stay together it illegal here, and the only solution is marry her. But you have say it’s far from your plan, you just can help her to find a job here and come and just see each other during your free time, but not live together.

I was in a similar condition in 1990. I married my girlfriend and the problems disappeared. It's that easy.