Lock Down
I had a phone interview with an employer and they mentioned that there was a "lock down" from September through to December (?) and that a special permit from your employer was needed to leave the country. Could somebody explain to me what this is and the reasons (politics, culture???) why this is. Does this happen every year?
I am not sure of the full details but we all assume it will be hard to get anybody to Doha during the stated period, due to security, the immigration staff being busy in finalizing the 15.000 or so visas for the games in addition to the expected unavailability of hotels n accommodations. So it is not only related to employment but even projects that require ppl from outside the country. Having said this n if u had to bring someone, related t work or family, then try to avoid it.
For leaving the country then I agree with the guys that u r maybe referencing the Exist Permit n that's a normal practice in the whole country. It is not as much restriction of ppl movement but only to protect the employer interest.. N to my understanding, it does not take much to issue such permit :)
It seems certain categories from Medical, security, utilities, hospitality etc have a restriction on travel due to the Asian Games. Sept to end Dec.
The personnel in these fields are limited hence they are bringing in people to fill the post from other countries.
The last time we had a major event in Qatar (like MENA, OIC), don't remember where I was returning from, but the aircraft was diverted and I was upgraded and more than half the aircraft which was empty, was filled by Philipino hospality staff. They were contracted from the parent company for 2 weeks.
Kuwait changed the regulation about a month and a half ago and is now in line with Qatar, Bahrain and UAE. You can get a visa on arrival if you have been a GCC resident for over 6 months.
Of course checking with the embassy of the country concerned can do no harm.
Visa on arrival is applicable to certain categories of GCC visa, even though I have travelled frequently to UAE and Bahrain, the local Kuwait sponsor had to apply for my visa to Kuwait before flying from Qatar. In the UAE certain categories need a visa before flying.
You can get visa on arrival for Bahrain, UAE and Kuwait if you have been a resident of Qatar for 6 months and over.
Otherwise you will need a visa from the country's embassy in Doha.
Maybe everyone has to stay put during the Asian Games. The assumption being that if all exits are closed you will support the games and provide a possibly much needed boost to the attendance
e46M3,
You seem to know a lot about these things. I just want to ask something. I have a working visa and would like to visit my friends in other Middle East countries like bahrain and dubai, is it possible to gain entry to those countries with the visa that I have or do I need another one? are there other docuents that I need to secure. I hope you can give me information on this. Thanks a bunch!
Maybe it's company-specific. If the company has anything to do with the Asian Games then they might need every hand on board.
Thats interesting e46M3 - she definately stated it as a "lock down". Maybe she used the worng terminology but said it ran through September to December - so she was quite specific.
Other than this an exit permit is required for leaving the country(anytime and any month). Thats obtained from yr employer and required by immigration while leaving.Just to make sure that u r leaving with the permission of the employer. :) Some different rules here around but u will be used to.
And about the lock down - I guess someone from the same company may guide u better if u leave here the company name - for which u were interviewd.
There is no lockdown. I haven't heard of anything like this ever.
There is, however, something called an exit permit which every non-Qatari must get from their sponsor before travelling. That is done by each company's HR department. These are available as annual permits or per trip basis depending on your employer/sponsor's policy.
It's interesting to me that a government/employers has such control over a nation - coming from a completely different culture/heritage it is hard to fathom. I would understand if it was a cultural thing, but due to the games............
I don't plan to leave the country in this time but was still curious. Thanks for the info.
I am not sure but i guess its due to the asian games in december. As there will be packed planes so the employers dont want the absence of their workers due to non availability of seats aboard flights on the way back.