Do you think it is a good idea?
Check-up in home country to be a must
DOHA: The Medical Commission, in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, has finalised plans to make it mandatory for job seekers from several Asian, African and Middle East countries to undergo a medical check-up in their home country before they arrive here.
The check-up will be made mandatory in a few months, a senior official of the Medical Commission said yesterday.
“The decision to reintroduce the tests was taken some time ago and we are now in the final stages of the preparations, in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior. Some people are already doing the tests before their arrival in Qatar, but it has not yet been made mandatory. It will be made mandatory very soon,” Dr Ibrahim Alshaar, director of the Medical Commission, said in an interview with The Peninsula.
The plan was officially announced in April last year at a joint press conference organised by the Medical Commission and the Ministry of Interior.
The rule will apply to job seekers from 11 countries – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Syria and Eritrea.
“We would start with a few South Asian countries like India and expand it to other countries in a phased manner. All job seekers will have to undergo the tests once they are made mandatory,” said Alshaar.
He said the mandatory tests at the Medical Commission would continue even after the new system is implemented. Currently every newcomer to Qatar must undergo the tests at the Medical Commission to detect contagious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
“We will continue the tests at the Medical Commission until we are fully assured about the quality and reliability of the tests that are conducted by the authorised medical centres in those countries,” said Alshaar.
There are more than 200 medical centres in the 11 countries that are authorised to conduct the tests. The fee for the tests is fixed at $50, said Alshaar.
“The test results will be forwarded online to the Medical Commission by the medical centres concerned. We will forward them to the Ministry of Interior that will issue the visas for the applicants based on the test results,” explained Alshaar.
The new recruits will have to carry the medical certificate with them for verification when they arrive in Qatar, he added.
The Ministry of Interior had earlier said that the tests would not be made mandatory for people coming to Qatar on a visit visa. Only those seeking a residence permit in the country will have to undergo the check-up. The offices of JAMCA, which is the union of approved medical centres by the GCC countries, were formed in most of the countries and cities from where the foreign workers are being recruited. The JAMCA offices and medical centres have been connected through a computer programme that guarantees secrecy, security and fast transfer of data. Source: The Peninsula
I fully support the mandatory medical checks not just for few nationalities but for everyone. Infections like TB may be more common in our subcontinent but not so for HIV and Hep. B.
My company requires the same of all expat employees, not just Asians and Middle Easterners.
The number of workers that are shipped here, and quickly shipped back as they are unfit for work is a ridiculous drain on funds, that could be better spent elsewhere.
It is mandatory to undergo medical test in asian countries through certified hospitals (affiliated with Qatar embassy) if applying for resident visa directly. This is a common practice and i dont see any harm in it. Main problem which would arise is falsification of medical reports, red tape activities for changing the results, and delay in visa issuance process. I guess it can be regulated with appropriate policies and strict monitoring.
we are all following the same since years.
seeking residence visa where the husband or father is the sponsor!
Its already mandatory for us.