The Qatar Ministry of Interior opened seven Qatar Visa Centres (QVC) in India recently, in the cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi. The opening of the QVC in India will facilitate and simplify the recruitment and work visa procedures for Indian expatriates travelling to Qatar for work before their arrival in the country. Officials from Qatar and India attended the opening ceremonies in different locations. 

According to Major Abdullah Al Mohannadi, Director of Visa Support Services (VSS) Department at the General Directorate of Passports in Qatar, India is the fourth country to launch Qatar Visa Centres after Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The opening of Qatar Visa Centres abroad is part of a project to launch 20 service centres in eight countries including Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Tunisia. These centres will speed up the residence procedures for expatriate workers.

Same Procedures

The centres provide a wide range of services such as fingerprinting, biometric data recording, medical examinations and signing of the employment contract before their departure to Qatar. It will ensure the protection of rights of both expatriates and employers by documenting the work contract before the workers travel to Qatar. This facility will also avoid cases where the employee is forced to return in case of ineligibility or inability to start work immediately upon arrival to Qatar. This step displays the keenness of the government of Qatar to ensure the protection and safety of expatriates coming to Qatar for work.

The employer has to start the initial registration through the Ministry of Interior website (www.moi.gov.qa) or through the app Metrash2. The recruitment procedures are the same as before but the processing has been transferred to the expats’ home countries. The employer has to pay all recruitment fees in Qatar, and the worker can follow up through the QVC at their home countries.

Major Al Mohannadi said that the project to complete the recruitment procedures from abroad through the QVC is in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The application process for work visa applicants from India to Qatar requires applicants to get a visa reference number from the MOI, book an appointment online through qatarvisacenter.com, and visit the QVC on appointment date no earlier than fifteen minutes before the scheduled time.

At the reception, the identity of the visa applicant will be verified, the list of required documents checked, and a token issued. Once the token is called, visa applicants are required to digitally sign their work contract, enrol their biometric data and undergo the required medical tests. Upon completion of the process at the visa centre, visa applicants will be able to track the status of their application online or through their employer in Qatar.

Qatar Visa Centre (QVC) in Delhi is located at Unit No 2, Lower ground floor, Parsvnath Mall, Akshardham Metro Station, Akshardham, New Delhi-110 092 and in Mumbai, QVC is located at 201/2, Hallmark Business Plaza, Sant Dyaneshwar Marg, Near Gurunanak Hospital, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra-400 051. In Chennai, QVC is headquartered at Shyamala Towers,1st Floor, East wing, 136 Arcot Road, Saligrammam, Chennai – 600 093, while the QVC in Hyderabad is located at Ground Floor, South Wing (Krishe Block), Krishe Sapphire Building, Hitech City Road, Madhapur, Hyderabad, Telangana-500 081.

QVC at Kolkata is located at Bengal Intelligent Park, Building Gamma, 1st Floor, Block-EP & GP, Sector-V, Salt Lake Electronics Complex, Kolkata, West Bengal– 700 091, while the Lucknow QVC is headquartered in BBD Viraj Towers”, 2nd Floor, TC G/1A – V/3 Vibhuti Khand, Shaheed Path, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh- 226 010 and the Qatar Visa Center in Kochi is in Edappally at Door No 38/4111/D, Ground Floor, National Pearl Star building, Near Changampuzha Park Metro Station, Edappally, Kochin, Kerala-682024.

The seven Qatar Visa Centres in India will be open for the customers from Monday to Friday from 8:30 am – 5 pm and can be contacted on 009144 6133 1333 or email: [email protected].

Some of the key medical tests to be conducted at the centre include blood tests, x-ray, visual assessments, and physical examinations. The operations are backed by a team of highly qualified healthcare professionals with internal systems and processes based on the latest medical standards and best practices.

Qatar Visa Center maintains robust multi-lingual information services for the benefit of visa applicants across multiple touch points. Information on appointment scheduling, requirements and steps at the visa centre can be found in English, Urdu and Arabic through its dedicated website (http://www.qatarvisacenter.com).