Qatar entry rule change?
A friend of mine arrived in Qatar this morning from the UK, he was delayed in Dubai as the authorities there would NOT let him fly to Qatar without him having an NOC letter from his last employer.
As it happens he had an NOC letter with him but it was in his luggage which was checked through to Doha, they had to unload his luggage, and he missed his original connection, but was able to produce the NOC and allowed to fly on.
He had worked in Qatar 6 months ago,(his RP was cancelled when he finished working by his employer) and has visited several times since on a tourist visa, this was evident on his passport, but it made NO difference.
Had he not had the NOC with him he would not have been allowed to enter Qatar, I assume that the rules have changed!
Be Warned!
[mod note: see this thread; http://www.qatarliving.com/node/212057 ]
Since I had an expired RP and had read on QL and on the gulf times about the new rule I called the QATARI embassy in my country to get some info before traveling.
WELL GUESS WHAT???? The guy at the embassy did not have the slightest idea of what I was talking about!!! I told him to read the gulf times or Qatar Living so that at least he could have a clue about his own country's regulations!!!!
Anyhow, I got stopped too at immigration, I offered the lady my NOC letter but she obviously had no cule of what to do since she had to call his superior..anyways..I got in!
What can I say...I guess it's just another way of welcoming tourists...by the way..when you land in Hawaii nice ladies give you flower necklaces!
"that does not excuse them from allowing people get on airplanes to come visit,"
They are preventing Greedy Expats changing Jobs at their will :)
to Ban Spoon Feeding not Me
This has been discussed at length previously.
http://www.qatarliving.com/node/212057
Yeah, whatever the motives were, that does not excuse them from allowing people get on airplanes to come visit, like they had been doing all along, only to turn them away because they decided to "start" enforcing a rule.
I am not debating the reasoning behind the rule, only the implementation.
This was imposed to deter Expats leaving their present job and returning back without serving 2 years ban and taking lucrative jobs with other employers :)
Ban Spoon Feeding not Me
Yeah, it would seem to me that informing people of this rule change BEFORE they buy tickets/board aircraft would make a bit more sense...and keep Qatar from getting an even worse reputation in this regard.
The Rule was there always. They started implimenting it on 26 Sep. 2008.
Ban Spoon Feeding not Me
Yes, they changed on the 26th September!! (Or thereabouts!)