Qatar
Domestic workers to be recruited through Qatar Visa Centres
Manpower firms to be allowed to bring domestic workers
* New service will allow Qatari citizens, residents and companies to authorise manpower agencies to complete the recruitment procedures for domestic workers through the Qatar Visa Centres
A new service allowing visa procedures for domestic workers to be carried out through Qatar Visa Centres (QVCs) located abroad will be launched by mid-August, after the Eid al-Adha holidays, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has said.
This was announced during a seminar organised on Tuesday by the Visa Support Services Department at the MoI's General Directorate of Passports, in co-operation with the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA), on the authorisation of manpower agencies to bring in domestic workers through the QVCs.
Major Abdullah al-Mohannadi, director of the Visa Support Services Department, and Mohamed Ali al-Meer, director of the Labour Inspection Department at the MADLSA, spoke at the seminar in the presence of representatives of manpower companies and agencies.
The new service will allow Qatari citizens, residents and companies to authorise manpower agencies to complete the recruitment procedures for domestic workers through the Qatar Visa Centres.
Major al-Mohannadi said this measure is a continuation of the project to complete work visa procedures for the expatriate workforce in their own home countries and in order to simplify recruitment procedures in general while protecting the rights of expatriates and ensure their safe and smooth entry into Qatar.
The authorisation can be done through the Metrash2 application and MoI website electronically, or at the MoI Services Centres manually, by selecting one of the listed recruitment offices or agencies in some "simple and quick steps", he said.
After the authorisation, the recruitment agencies can complete the recruitment process, and the various steps involved, through the QVCs located abroad. These include collecting biometric data, signing of contracts and conducting medical examinations.
Major al-Mohannadi stressed that this service aims to guarantee the rights of applicants and ensure the ratification of their contracts by the competent authority in Qatar, in addition to reducing time and effort for both the applicant and the expatriate.
On his part, al-Meer said the MADLSA is working on the classification of recruitment agencies operating in the country and evaluating them according to specific professional standards to ensure the best recruitment mechanism.
“This service facilitates the recruitment of domestic workers, wherein the employment contract will be signed through a Qatar Visa Centre in their own country - thus protecting the workers’ rights,” he noted.
A total of 13 QVCs have been opened so far in five countries.
Launched in October 2018 in Sri Lankan capital Colombo, QVCs have since been opened at a number of cities in different countries - Dhaka and Sylhet in Bangladesh, Islamabad and Karachi in Pakistan, Kathmandu in Nepal, and New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi in India.
More QVCs are expected to be opened in Indonesia, the Philippines and Tunisia.