found out some disturbing news today that's not sitting quite right with me (which clearly is the cause of my migraine and heartburn). it all stemmed from a meeting i had this morning with a possible future employer. without getting into the meeting details, it made me rush home and do some further research on my own about the immigration law here in qatar. this is what i found out...
in order to obtain a work visa/ residence permit you must be sponsored by an employee. this is pretty straight forward and the norm for most expats 'immigrating' to another country. however, there are a few BUTs...
a) your sponsor has full reign over you to the extent giving you permission to exit the country by issuing you an exit visa. without an exit visa you will not be allowed to leave. it may not be a problem obtaining one however, i have read testimonials of employers refusing exit visas to employees or visas revoked last minute due to operational requirements. apparently, they say this law was put in place to restrain expats from 'pulling a runner' and leaving the country with bank loans, furniture grants, etc. and never returning.
there is a solution for this - request a mulit exit visa from your employer. this allows you to exit the country freely at your own discretion (aka an exit visa from your employer is not required). this type of visa is the standard for most western companies as well as the private sector (government) jobs. mike has been issued a multi exit visa...phew. i however, will be working in the public sector which means a mulit exit visa is not as common. need i say more!?!
AND the solution for that...you guessed it - get married. from what i have read and understand, if you 'piggyback' onto your spouse's visa to obtain a residence permit (RP) all you need to work is a 'stamp' granting you a work visa within your RP. therefore, there is no need to be sponsored by your employer b/c you are sponsored by your spouse's (and in this case it would be a good thing with mike having a multi exit visa). i am not trying to find more reasons why we should get married, i am simply trying to communicate to you how much easier life is here for married couples! could you imagine if mike's job didn't work out for some reason and he has to leave the country but i have to stay behind b/c my employer will not release me!?!
b) there is a 12 month limitation before leaving a job. in order to leave and transfer your sponsorship to another employer, you must obtain an NOC (non objective letter) from your current employer releasing you. if this is not obtained for some reason (i have read that some employers refuse to issue one) then the individual is blocked from applying for another work visa for 2 years after the cancellation of the original visa.
like i said, i am still looking into these issues further - these are my current finds. in the meantime i am going to hold off in signing my life, oh i mean an offer away! i may not be working as soon as i thought - or at all if it is under these conditions. very discouraging and upsetting for me but just another obstacle i need to try and overcome...somehow!!!
in order to obtain a work visa/ residence permit you must be sponsored by an employee. this is pretty straight forward and the norm for most expats 'immigrating' to another country. however, there are a few BUTs...
a) your sponsor has full reign over you to the extent giving you permission to exit the country by issuing you an exit visa. without an exit visa you will not be allowed to leave. it may not be a problem obtaining one however, i have read testimonials of employers refusing exit visas to employees or visas revoked last minute due to operational requirements. apparently, they say this law was put in place to restrain expats from 'pulling a runner' and leaving the country with bank loans, furniture grants, etc. and never returning.
there is a solution for this - request a mulit exit visa from your employer. this allows you to exit the country freely at your own discretion (aka an exit visa from your employer is not required). this type of visa is the standard for most western companies as well as the private sector (government) jobs. mike has been issued a multi exit visa...phew. i however, will be working in the public sector which means a mulit exit visa is not as common. need i say more!?!
AND the solution for that...you guessed it - get married. from what i have read and understand, if you 'piggyback' onto your spouse's visa to obtain a residence permit (RP) all you need to work is a 'stamp' granting you a work visa within your RP. therefore, there is no need to be sponsored by your employer b/c you are sponsored by your spouse's (and in this case it would be a good thing with mike having a multi exit visa). i am not trying to find more reasons why we should get married, i am simply trying to communicate to you how much easier life is here for married couples! could you imagine if mike's job didn't work out for some reason and he has to leave the country but i have to stay behind b/c my employer will not release me!?!
b) there is a 12 month limitation before leaving a job. in order to leave and transfer your sponsorship to another employer, you must obtain an NOC (non objective letter) from your current employer releasing you. if this is not obtained for some reason (i have read that some employers refuse to issue one) then the individual is blocked from applying for another work visa for 2 years after the cancellation of the original visa.
like i said, i am still looking into these issues further - these are my current finds. in the meantime i am going to hold off in signing my life, oh i mean an offer away! i may not be working as soon as i thought - or at all if it is under these conditions. very discouraging and upsetting for me but just another obstacle i need to try and overcome...somehow!!!
2 comments:
I am glad you asked the right questions and found this out sooner rather than later!!!!! May-be you will be spending the next few years as a lady of leisure. Love you .
I agree with your mom... :))) Living as a lady of leisure might not be so bad :)))))
See you soon!! :)
Erinn
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