Qatar Informs Countries, Airlines About New Residence Cards
Brig al-Ateeq and Capt al-Muhannadi at the press conference
Doha
Qatar has informed all countries as well as airlines around the world about the introduction of Residence Cards and asked them to consider the card as proof of the holder’s residence permit in the country.
“To be sure, the airline staff can verify the validity and other details of the residence permit of the passenger through Qatar’s Interior Ministry website (www.moi.gov.qa),” a senior official said, ruling out the possibility of expatriates facing any difficulty while checking in at foreign airports.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has decided to do away with affixing residence permit (RP) stickers in passports from June 15 and start issuing Residence Cards in its place, it was announced on Monday.
Of the same size and type as the present identity card, the new card will have the same fee as that of the RP. The card will serve the dual purpose of identity card as well as residence permit.
Addressing a press conference, Assistant Director General of the General Directorate of Nationality, Borders and Expatriates Affairs (GDNBEA) Brigadier Mohamed Ahmed al-Ateeq and officer of the technical office at GDNBEA Captain Abdullah Khalifa al-Muhannadi said the card could be renewed for one, two, three years for the same fee as before.
In some cases they can be renewed for five years. Separate cards will be issued for children, however small they are. When an expatriate changes his sponsorship, he will be issued a new Residence Card.
For the issuance of the Residence Card, the passport should be produced for the first time only. Subsequent renewals will not require submission of the passport or any other document, the officials said.
Expatriates have to present the card whenever they enter and leave the country.
The new Residence Card will contain the personal data and a photo of the holder. It will not contain any information about the blood group of the owner. The documents required for issuing the new Residence Card are the same as those for the residence permit, Brigadier al-Ateeq said.
The passport along with the filled application form will be required for issuing the new Residence Card for the first time and the passport will not be required for renewal, except in case of a new passport. Signature of children below 16 years will not be required.
There will be two types of cards, the normal Residence Card and the smart Residence Card. The smart Residence Card will offer the same services rendered by the present smart ID card.
With the abolition of the sticker system, applicants can complete the renewal of their residence through self-service machines available at commercial centres or the Metrash2 service or the website of the Ministry of Interior, Brigadier al-Ateeq said. The Residence Card will be delivered to the place of the applicant through the postal service.
Brigadier al- Ateeq said the new measure would reduce the number of visitors to MoI’s service centres. Family or personal residence permits can be renewed electronically or through the service centres of the Ministry of Interior.
All the expatriates will be issued Residence Cards gradually by providing cards for first time applicants and at the time of renewal of RPs. Expatriates who have valid RPs on their passports will not be given new Residence Cards before the expiry of their residence permit, except in case of transferring the residence permit from an old passport to a new one, the assistant director general said.
He advised expatriates to keep the Residence Cards always with them and show it to authorities whenever asked.
Capt. al-Muhannadi said that with the introduction of the new system the only barrier to massive public utilisation of the electronic avenues has been removed. “It also frees the pages of passports for seals at airports and for stamping of the visas of other countries.”
More features like the health card will be integrated into the Residence Card in due course to make it truly multi-purpose, Capt. al-Muhannadi added.