Internet, Cable and Landline

Q-Tel is the only service provider in Qatar which provides services in landline telephone connection. So, when one does apply for Wifi connection, he / she get a free landline connection and a cable connection with some free channels. One has to pay a small monthly fee to get additional channels. The internet speed is decent & better than any other connection. The total cost per month will go to an average of 350 Riyal with all the above.

*Calling from one Q-Tel landline to other is absolutely free in Qatar

Interesting Visa Rules for travelling outside Qatar

Some interesting facts came to my knowledge when I arrived in Qatar for my 2^nd job after MBA in a local Qatari bank in the early part of 2012.

One has to take prior permission from the company (where he / she works) to leave Qatar on a holiday. The company will get permission from government allowing the employee to leave the country. The normal procedure takes 3-4 days. In an emergency, it takes minimum of 1 working day, depending on company to company. Every company has a designated person (in HR) who deals with this kind of query (online application).

Experience at Airport

On arrival at Qatar International Airport, my first task was to get the local currency (Qatari Riyal, 1QAR = 13.5 INR). As a banker, my experience was mixed in terms of withdrawing cash from the ATMs installed at the airport area (3 ATMs of different banks).

All the ATMs work on chip based Debit (ATM) / Credit Cards (similar to what is issued by MayBank in Malaysia). But my Indian Debit card did not work at the airport as it was not chip based.

Hence, it is advisable to carry around 1000 QAR while coming to Qatar for the 1^st time. One might need to buy a sim-card which is available on airport after the check-out counter.

Q-Tel is the local brand, but Vodafone is also present. The price diff between the calls to say India is hardly 0.10 QAR per minute with Q-Tel being costlier, but Q-Tel has the best coverage as against Vodafone.

Preparation for travelling to Qatar – MI Document

2 documents which are most important while coming for a job here is as follows (the importance is in terms of time & effort spent to avail these documents). The immediate requirement of these documents for visa purpose differs from one employer to other in middle-east. Some need it immediately, while others may give 4-6 months of time to arrange for the same.

· Attested Bachelors / Master Degree certificate – The attestation is required as a mandatory document by many middle-east companies to authenticate the education qualification of the candidate. The attestation may take from 10 days to 45 days. Many agencies like urogulf.com in India assist in the entire attestation process with a cost of around INR 7K to 13K. Normally the attestation involves 5 parties which is as follows –

§ Notary attestation

§ College attestation

§ University attestation

§ Ministry of External Affairs attestation (India)

§ Embassy Stamp (UAE, Qatar, Saudi) – One needs to get different embassy stamp to get into different middle-east countries.

· Police Verification – It is given for a particular country to be submitted in the company. Some companies though do not demand it. Minimum time for completion = 10 days. Its processing involves following major steps –

§ Submission of stamped document (Identity proof & Address Proof) by a gazette officer with the application form at the main police verification center

§ Within 3-4 days, the local police will do the verification and send the report to Main office

§ The main office will do the due diligence and by 10^th day is ready to give the police verification.