This complete guide provides detailed instructions concerning the application requirements, necessary papers, visa fees, and other procedures you need to be aware of to apply for a Qatar Family Residence Visa.
Table of Contents
Family Residence Visa: Description and Eligibility Conditions
A Qatar Family Residence Visa represents the kind of permit that non-resident workers can obtain to bring their closest family members like a spouse and children for a long-time stay in the country. It’s crucial for each family member (even for children) to have a separate Visa to reside in Qatar.
Besides, a non-resident applicant should meet some eligibility conditions such as qualification, salary rate, and accommodation in order to bring their immediate relatives.
Applicants must also provide various papers, including verified educational certificates, payslips from the hirer, and rental agreements.
Note:
- The Ministry of Interior has recently extended the list of countries whose residents can use their Metrash2 mobile app to obtain a Family Residence Visa. In order to become an applicant, it is necessary to enter personal information and upload related copies using the app.
Qatar Family Visa Requirements
Below you can see the list of the requirements you should meet to be able to apply for the family visa:
Residence Permit
This condition implies a valid Qatar Residence Permit. Remember that your ID card or Residence Card has to be active before the start of the application process.
Qualification
As stated in Qatar ID, the sponsor’s qualification must be technical or specialized. People relating to the labor class (f. ex.: builders, carriers, plumbers, and others) may not be allowed to bring their relatives regardless of their income.
Salary Rate
The employee must obtain at least QR 10,000 to meet the salary rate requirement.
Employees with a salary rate of at least QR 7000also fit the terms. However, in this case, the employer must provide free family accommodation.
The income rules are needed to guarantee that the applicant can support their family expenses, including housing and food.
Accommodation
When your salary rate exceeds QR 10,000, you are to show a rental agreement certified by the authorities.
In case your salary rate is between QR 7,000 and QR 10,000, then you need your hirer to provide your family with accommodation. If they don’t, you have to attach an employment agreement that specifically states that the employer pays an extra accommodation allowance in addition to your regular remuneration.
Family Residence Visa: Actions and Procedures
Once you decide to become an applicant, ask your organization to find out if they can help you manage the process. Employers are generally not responsible for assisting or paying for their employees’ visas, but some of them agree to help with this procedure as part of their contracting agreements.
The entire application process for obtaining a Family Residence Card can be divided into the following actions:
Action 1. Obtaining Entry Visa: online and offline methods
Action 2. Arriving in Qatar using Entry Visas
Action 3. Taking the health examination
Action 4. Dactyloscopy examination
Action 5. Obtaining Family Residence Permit Card
Below we have provided the detailed instructions for each action.
Action 1: Obtaining Entry Visa: Online and Offline Methods
Here you should provide all the necessary papers to obtain the Family Entry Visa. This visa is valid only for a month but may enable your spouse and children to enter the country. However, other actions like medical examinations and fingerprint scanning should be carried out after coming to Qatar.
Indeed, there is another approach that focuses on bringing your spouse and children to the country using a Visit Visa. This approach significantly streamlines the process. Remember that you have an opportunity to transfer a Visit Visa into Family Residence Visa after providing the same papers. However, in case of transferring the Visit Visa without exiting Qatar, you are to pay an extra QR 500.
Note:
- All workers from the private sector have to show a six-month bank statement; that’s why many of them prefer to take their family members on a Visit Visa until the end of the six-month period.
Papers Required for the Application Procedure
When applying, make sure you have all the following papers:
- An application completed in Arabic (not required if using a mobile app.)
- Front and back sides copies of the Qatar ID card.
- ID page copy of your Passport (the page with your picture, your date of birth, etc.)
- Passport copies of all the family members who are going to enter Qatar.
- Copy of Marriage Certificate – certified by your country’s embassy in Qatar, Qatar’s embassy in your country, and Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Copy of Birth Certificates for all the children – certified by the establishments as described above.
- Certified copies of all your diplomas.
- No Objection Letter from your organization specifying your qualification and income (written in Arabic and dated within the last three months.)
- Copy of the Company Registration Card / Employer QID.
- Your Rental Agreement copy certified by Municipality or proof from your company stating they will accommodate your family members.
- A six-month stamped bank statement to confirm your salary rate.
- Employment Contract stamped by the Ministry Of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs.
Note:
- Copies of the diplomas, employment contract, and the Employer QID are optional when it concerns public sector organizations.
- If some of the original documents are not initially in Arabic or English, you need to translate them. Numerous of Qatar’s small businesses dealing with certification and verification can help you translate all the papers.
- In case your children have been adopted, you are also required to attach all the related papers, including the reasons for adoption.
Method 1: Online Application Using Mobile App
Lately, the authorities have made the entire procedure easier by enabling applicants to upload all the necessary papers using the mobile app. After you download the app, you need to register and start the application process. Once you have done that, follow the instructions below:
- When logged in to Metrash, tap the “Visa.”
- Next, tap the icon “Issue Visa.”
- Next, you need to tap the “Family Visit.”
- Finally, tap the “Family Resident Application.”
Note:
- By default, you are suggested to obtain a Family Visit Visa. In order to apply for a Residence Visa, you should change this option as described here:
5. Select the “New Application” (bottom right of the screen.)
6. Accurately complete the application with the necessary details. Then, press “Validate.”
7. Follow the directions on your phone and upload all the documents required for the procedure.
Note:
- All the pictures and scans must be legible.
- Remember that the photo and bio page should be placed in one JPG file when uploading passport scans. You may use a third-party app to stick the scans/photos to each other.
- Correspondingly, when you upload Qatar ID, make sure that both front and back sides are placed together in the same file.
8. Once you confirm your application, you are expected to receive a notification (it may take a few days.)
If your application is approved, you are required to pay the visa fee of QR 200 online through Metrash2 or visit the Immigration Office.
Method 2: Applying for Family Residence Offline
If it’s not possible for any reason to use a mobile app, you may always apply directly. In this case, you need to fill in a form in Arabic as an add-on to other papers listed above. If you do not speak Arabic, you may ask for help in any printing office.
Click here to download the Arabic Form
Take all the necessary papers to the Immigration Department located in the Al Gharafa district. In order to avoid long queues, you’d better visit it early in the morning.
Once you are in, you should take a virtual number from Reception and wait patiently for your turn. When you see your number on display, go to the department manager and provide all the papers and copies required. If everything is ok, the Department should accept the application and notify you in a few days.
If your application form is approved, your next step will be to pay the visa fee of QR 200. Note that you will be asked to use your bank card to make a payment.
Application is Declined: Solution
In some cases, your visa application can be declined even if you follow everything correctly. Actually, you may visit the Immigration Department and negotiate with the visa approval committee.
The officers will arrange the meeting and give you a copy of the confirmation, where they should state the meeting date (the officers generally keep the original.)
If they don’t detect any significant issues with your submitted papers after their thorough check, you will be provided with an appointment with the approval committee.
During the meeting, the committee may ask you several questions concerning your income or qualification.
Besides, don’t forget to take the originals of all the required papers with you, including all your certificates and diplomas. The committee members may ask you to show them the documents. If there are no issues, you are expected to get the approval in a few days.
Action 2: Arriving in Qatar using Entry Visas
When you pass all the formalities, your spouse and children can come to the country. Remember that this type of visa expires after a month from the arrival date, which means that the subsequent procedures, including health and dactyloscopy examination, should be taken during this period.
If your spouse and children arrive using a Visit Visa, then it’s possible to move on to the next actions.
Action 3: Taking the Health Examination
The process of obtaining the Residence Permit generally implies taking several medical tests. The grounds of such an obligation are to keep people from various infections from foreigners.
In order to start the process, you need to visit the Medical Commission Department that takes the primary responsibility for managing this examination. Their Office is located in Al Muntazah Street, Doha.
There is nothing special about the health examination, and it typically includes a general blood test, fluorography, and testing for various dangerous diseases like Hepatitis type B or C and Tuberculosis.
You are required to take all the papers listed below:
- Passport (original)
- A legible copy of your valid visa. Don’t forget to write down your contact number just in case
- Bank card for payment
To take a Medical Test, you have to pay a fee of QR 100 (per individual.)
Note:
- Children are not required to take a health examination. Nevertheless, you should take their passports and visa copies to the Medical Commission Office and pay the fee to mark them as approved in the inner system.
- In case of transforming a Visit Visa into a Residence Visa, you need to tell the officer about that.
- The results of the health tests are sent online to the Ministry of Interior’s database. In a couple of days, you may check the results using your Metrash2 account. Besides, it is also possible to see the results on the MoPH webpage.
Action 4: Dactyloscopy Examination
For security reasons, all the applicants are required to digitally register their fingerprints with the Ministry of Interior.
Note:
- Before dactyloscopy examination, you are also required to obtain a blood group certificate, which you can take from any local medical center. It usually costs about QR 50.
In order to undergo dactyloscopy examination (fingerprint scanning) in Qatar, you have to visit the CEID – Criminal Evidence and Information Department.
Before visiting the Department, make sure you have the following papers with you:
- Employee’s both Passport and the QID copies
- Applicant’s original Passport and its copy
- Two passport-size photos taken on a blue field
- Blood group certificate
Additionally, you are required to fill in an application form which you may take at the Department. If you are given a confirmation after your scanning, you need to keep it for the future.
Once the dactyloscopy scanning is finished, you are expected to get a notification in your Metrash2 account.
Action 5: Obtaining Family Residence Permit Card
Under this action, you are expected to obtain a Qatar ID (which is actually a Residence Permit Card). Here you need to go to your local Police Office with your ID card, your spouse’s and childrens’ Passports, and passport-size photos taken on a blue field.
Note that for the first year, the Residence Permit counts for QR 500. After payment of the fees, the officers will notify you once the cards are ready for collection.
- Qatar Family Visa Fees (Per Person)
- Qatar Family Visa QR 200
- Qatar ID card (for a one-year period) QR 500
- Health Examination QR 100
Remember that there may be extra charges for documents verification, Blood Group Certificate, and others. Besides, you will be charged extra money if you decide to transform a Visit Visa to a Residence Visa without leaving Qatar.
If You Want to Bring Children Above the Age with You
When bringing your family members with you, pay attention to the fact that sons who are 25 years and over are not permitted to be on their parents’ visas. However, there is no age limit for female children until they change their marital status.
Adult children who overstep the age limits may get a Residence Permit from their parents for one extra year in order to find an employer during that year.
If Your Family Members Decide to Work
If your spouse or adult children (while on a Family Residence Visa) intend to work, they need to get special permission (called a Work Permit) to work legally in the country. It’s also possible to use Metrash2 to obtain the Permit.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is there a lower salary limit if I want to become an applicant?
Yes. If you decide to become an applicant for a Qatar Family Residence Visa, then your salary lower limit should be QR 10,000 or QR 7,000 if your employer provides your family with accommodation.
What if my family residence application is declined?
In case your application is declined, the solution to the problem is to visit the Gharafa Immigration Office and discuss your issue with the visa approval committee.
May I update my Residence Permit?
Yes, you may update your Residence Permit for your family by making all the necessary changes to the Metrash2 mobile app. Here you will also need to make an online payment.
May I get a residence visa for other relatives?
No. Qatar Family Residence Visas are generally issued for spouses and children only. In some cases, parents can be sponsored, but it is rather an exception.
How much does it cost to get a family visa in Qatar?
The price of the initial visa to enter the country costs QR 200. Nevertheless, there are some extra fees you are required to pay for Health Tests, ID Card, and some other expenses required for attestation or translation.
1 comment
In metrash2 app you will be asked to upload marriage certificate, marriage certificate(other) and declaration of non – marriage daughter, you cant skip this part. Question is where you will get these document marriage certificate (other) and declaration of non-marriage daughter?