moving to QATAR
 

Few question here.

-- Starting training next month. Wife will join in September with Kids.
Will Qatar let me go back to home Country to travel back to Doha with wife and Kids? Or Wife and Kids have to travel by themself?

-- Can I get a car loan from Qatar or do i need to get one from bank and at what interest rate?

No leave available during training. You must be done before you can have any leave. But if it happen to be your days off and they are kind enough to give you exit permit then you can go pick your family up.

Car loan with Banks only not with company. Interest rate varies with bank. HSBC offer 6% interest rate now. Goodluck:ok:

Can you please elaborate on the EXIT PERMIT! What on earth is this, do you need permission from QR?

BTW..what is the policy on staying in Qatar during days off, are you allowed to jet set out to another nearby country, or do you have to stay there?

As an employee in the State of Qatar you need and exit permit to leave the country. Yes, no freedom. Your company must approve for you to leave the country even if it's your days off. Two options. Single exit permit or Multiple Exit Permit.

Multiple Exit Permit can be obtain with an approval from the company and you have to pay QAR 500 (USD 136.98)

As for your family, they are free to enter and exit the country anytime they please after RP (residence permit) has been obtain.

Welcome to the Middle East. It's another world. :ugh:

Wow, I don't think other Middle Eastern companies have that. Especially not for pilots. How long does the multiple exit visa last for. Is it hard to get? I mean I'de assume its a blanket restriction for all companies and QR has no problem issuing one, right :sad:??

Thank you for the info Sky320.

Deconneur.

Multiple Exit permits last for 1 year. Not difficult to get, but you have to fill some forms and wait for Management to sign and approve then you will get your multiple exit permits after paying QAR 500 (Process usually take less than a week for paper work, but for the permit itself you get in on the spot after paying)

Multi exit permits are only given to Pilots and upper Management types. Cabin Crew and other employees are not allowed and will not be issued Multi Exit permits. all others will only receive single use exit permits.

the ability to have multi exit permits are given to very few companies in Qatar.

keep in mind when given a multi exit permit the company reserves the right to suspend the privilege.. meaning, if your a bad boy the company will and can block or suspend your exit permit, Thus you will not be able to leave the country.

MULTIPLE EXIT PERMITS
 

More on the Exit Permits Please,

Is a pilot able to apply and pay for the multiple exit permit immediateley upon taking up unemployment, i.e starting training? Or is there a waiting period before the benefit kicks in.

I must say it wont be nice to not be able to leave the country if you wish to on your days off.

Suppose its a for the company to make sure people dont jump ship without paying trainining bonds, loans etc.

What they don't tell you is that if you resign and your Multiple Exit Permit is still valid, YOU MUST PAY 500QR to have it cancelled before they'll let you leave the dump! Just another case of stealing from the expat.
I'll stand corrected, but as far as I'm aware, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are the only countries in the world requiring exit visas.
Find a job somewhere else!

Get the multiple exit permit, 500QR for the whole year, and leave anytime you wish(when you have a few days off).
Does this sound right?

I don't see where the problem is. :cool:

Now that's really funny!
How about the tax free income?!
May be you are talking about Multiple Incidents of Stealing because you were not paying attention?:suspect:

Geez,

every time I read something here that makes me question heading over!

Sounds like one is almost better off working for Jetstar with all these hidden little traps and disciplines!?????

I'm just SLF but I can tell you that Exit Permits apply to everyone working (legally) in Qatar - not just employees of State organisations. The private sector is hit too. AFAIK the only other countries which apply similar restrictions are K.S.A. and Iran.

Good employers can get them instantly via an on-line process. It's no big deal even if you don't have a multiple exit permit. The key words are 'good employers'.....

And having a multiple exit permit is considered here as a ""privilege""!!!
The privilege of being free to leave the country whenever you want...:ouch:

Transport allowance
 

What is transport allowance?
Is it for home to airport transportation or else?
Just curious!
Deconneur

If I have it right, transport allowance is

1500 Riyal/month for FO
1000 Riyal SO/fast track SO

...after 3 month from DOJ you are eligible to request multiple exit permit and it last 1 year. But things may change ...

But as for the single exit permits, do you get them faster? Or do you need to wait just as long?

Visa
 

someone said that it s possible to request the multiply Visa after the training...what doesn it means? after the line training? joining on T7..how long will it take?

thanks for any answer!

Single exit permits will take up to 3 working days to get after approval. Problem is. They are valid normally for 1 exit within 7 days, if not used by then it becomes invalid. If for some reason you get a ticket go thru immigration but refused at the gate due to load restrictions or anyother reason.. Because you have already passed immigration your exit permit is considered used and becomes invalid for any other exits despite the fact you actually didn't exit.
Only 1 exit permit is issued at any given time so you would then have to reapply.

blusky75

Anytime you hear.... After training... It most always means after final line check. There is no telling on a time frame, some go thru in 2 to 3 months and some take greater than 6 months.

Capt krunch

Thanx for the info. So in case the training takes several months, is it not possible to come back home for few days at all or they let you go?

Before the multiple exit you need a residence permit, which it might be as long as 2 month! And NO, without exit you cannot leave the country.

Exit Visas
 

I believe that the majority of expats who take up employment in Qatar do not really understand the nature of the place, and do not realise that they will essentially be considered as 'slaves' by their employers.

If you are considering working in Qatar, you’d better make sure that you understand and are prepared to comply with all contract terms to the letter before you accept any contract.

Make no mistake, Qatari employers will hold their expat employees strictly to their contract terms, regardless of any other considerations.

Qatar does have a 'labour law', but conveniently (for them!), this law does not apply to Qatari government employees, and all companies operating in Qatar have a strong connection with Qatari government bodies.

You should understand what that means…

As far as I am aware, Qatar has some of the most restrictive laws of all the Mid East/GCC countries regarding exit visas for expat employees, in particular the issue of multiple exit/re-entry visas.

Some examples: Any expat working in Saudi Arabia can obtain a multi exit/re-entry visa through his sponsor/employer without too much trouble, once he has obtained his resident's permit. He just has to pay the visa cost to his sponsor/employer.

In the UAE, once a resident's permit is obtained the holder can exit and re-enter the UAE freely, provided that the holder does not spend more than six months out of the UAE during the RP's validity.

Can the holder of a Qatar residents permit obtain exit/re-entry visas so easily? Well I suppose it depends on who you know, but not many Benny…

Compared to other GCC countries, Qatar has a lot of catching up to do.

Beware!

CJ.

Normally i don't mind to work overthere. But the exit visa is THE thing that afraids me the most. As long that is not more flexible i'm reluctant to apply.

Recently i heard the story of a Belgian who was stuck overthere. Belgian authorities did everything to get him out without any succes. Final result was that he had to escape with help of friends.:sad:

Perhaps he had some issues with the authorities?! Should be a reason for that

The only thing i know that there was a dissagreement between him and employer. Employer refused to sign for exit visa. So yes, it can happen!

They want to be sure that you dont have some un-closed loans of something like that , before you leave the countrey ... first, before exit, you have to make them sure that you are not obliged for something ...

that is the reason

Jet Ranger, that doesn't make sense, almost all of us are going to have loans, most people in this day and age have loans, with cars, credit cars etc.

And then add on top of that that most of us will be bonded. So are you saying we can not leave for 4 or 5 years until we pay off our loans?

I think it has more to do with whether your company trusts you or not. if you have threatened to leave or seem to be on your way out then the company has the opportunity to block you.

its more about if you took loans in qatar, especially company loans (some companies give you a better rate than a bank) then they dont want you to just disappear...
usually your exit permit will not be denied. you apply for vacation and additionally for an exit permit. not a problem at all. as both goes on one request. so for you its just one tick mark in another box on a request sheet. if you need to go during off days, fill out a request form and mark the tick under exit permit and enter the leaving date.
this is just a method for the company to have control. you go and work there, so you are being guest not local. as pilot and if you read the above, you just apply for multiple exit permit every year and thats it - done. if thats the only thing that bugs you, check out the webpages online where you can listen to all the phonecalls anyone made in qatar... thats how it is. accept it or leave it. therefore the crimerate there equals almost 0.

and to your question. as soon as you finished your probation period you get you can request the stuff...

in short: qatar = you live there to work, not to enjoy the country. good pay, new aircraft, international crews, uprising company, as good as no hr.
in my opinion some ppl are in need to experience the culture instead of blocking straight away. it can be interesting.

Multiple exit permit
 

Good post Tritzo..With my permit, I average from 2 to 3 trips home for a few days off in a month aside from my scheduled layover flights. No problems whatsoever. Whats to beware of. Keep your nose clean, as one would do in any other country, and all runs smoothly.

Hey folks... There is absolutely nothing to worry about with regard to the exit visa. I used to live there for many years and I had no trouble at all getting the exit visa, for either myself or my mates there. Remember that a respectable and big employers like QR wouldn't get you in legal troubles unless you ask for it! Well, things may go wrong sometimes with some people! But if you dig deeper, there must have been something wrong as well that they've done. So just make sure that you don't walk in the dirt... Life then would be easy!


Good luck.

;)
 

finally someone thinking positively who makes people less worryed joining QR!!!

Guys,
I've been here 6+ years already, and not a single problem leaving the country on days off.
Consider the 500 QAR for the multiple exit permit as an investment for a piece of mind.
Just the simple fact that you have it and can go anywhere you please on your day off (even if you don't actually do it) is priceless!
More to the point, you'll be required to get the E-pass, to be used at the e-Gates, which saves you a lot of hastle going out or comming in the country, and ALSO requires that you hold a multi exit permit.
And to wrapt it up - RELAX! Normal people live here, as everywhere else (and some qiute crazy ones, also as everywhere else)!
Cheers!
H.L.

Gotta say...no trouble leaving at all! Got four days off....so headed back home this evening. No hassles....

Please don't make this out to be more than it really is, just because it is different to how you are used to. Most people dislike things they don't understand.

SSS

Hi all,
On a slightly different subject... I am moving out in January and have had all the recommended jabs for living in Qatar, but was advised that as I would be travelling into yellow fever areas etc that I have that... As well as rabies and hepB too.
Do Qatar Airways do these for us? Or do they pay for these?
What has everyone else done?
Cheers
(see you soon!)

Good to see you are treating your health with respect.
I got Hepp. and was off for six months and damn near died before the days of the Heppie jab.
Mates got malaria big time and neither of us were ever really 100% the same health wise after those.
Allow for 6 monthly dental hygiene cleaning.... as a private patient down route...flying rosters in the past made it impossible for Gulf based pilots to keep or make dental appointments with the company dentist.
I understand today poor dental hygiene is considered a risk that contributes to potential future heart problems...and you do not need these.

I'm affraid the first answer is No. Not sure about the latter.

The medical insurance (Alliance) is very good, but I haven't checked to see if this will cover jabs/boosters etc....

My advise would be to get this all done before you come....I would guess that the insurance won't cover it, but I'm not certain.

SSS

I had the Yellow fever shot last year, before we started flying to GRU and I did this in Doha.
The shot itself was free, I just had to pay like 10 QAR ( less than 3 USD ) to get the "passport" - a little orange booklet, in which they put an entry with a signature and a stamp to sertify I've got the jab. It's not Qatar Airways, it's a goverment Agency.
And Allianz was not even mentioned.
Cheers!

So who in their right mind?????????????????????????????????????????

And it's 'you're a bad boy' not 'your':\