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Qatar expat residents forced to carry ID cards or face heavy fines
| Published: | 30 Dec at 6 PM |
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Tagged: Visas
Expats living and working in Qatar are being forced to carry their Residence Permit ID cards with them at all times or face being fined QR10,000.
An article in Qatar Scoop is reminding expats of the requirement to carry the documentation with them whenever they go out, irrespective of their home countries or cultures. Should those stopped fail to produce valid proof of their identities and permission to stay, a fine of QR10,000 must be paid. According to police, ID will only be requested if there is suspicion of illegal behaviour, with genuine residents having nothing to fear.
The credit-card sized ID cards are issued to every foreigner given permission to stay in the emirate, and passports may also be inspected to ensure correct identification of expats stopped by police. Sight of residency permits is often required when entering clubs or residential compounds, with non-compliers being referred to a court in Qatar’s Search and Follow-up department.
Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti minister has strongly denied claims the emirate is making plans to deport up to one million expats in order to reduce their numbers. According to Gulf News, social and labour minister Hind al Subaih has rejected the claim, adding there have been no surveys related to expelling expats. However, she added, there have been demographic studies focusing on expats’ social status, qualifications, gender and type of job, but these are being used as a database for solutions to the imbalance between expats and Kuwaitis.
Foreigners working in the emirate number around 2.5 million, about 66 per cent of the total population. In the past, parliamentarians have called for urgent measures to reduce expat numbers, with one suggesting a cull of around 1.3 million over the next five years. The same lawmaker suggested the each foreign community should contain no more than 25 per cent of the total of expats in Kuwait.
An article in Qatar Scoop is reminding expats of the requirement to carry the documentation with them whenever they go out, irrespective of their home countries or cultures. Should those stopped fail to produce valid proof of their identities and permission to stay, a fine of QR10,000 must be paid. According to police, ID will only be requested if there is suspicion of illegal behaviour, with genuine residents having nothing to fear.
The credit-card sized ID cards are issued to every foreigner given permission to stay in the emirate, and passports may also be inspected to ensure correct identification of expats stopped by police. Sight of residency permits is often required when entering clubs or residential compounds, with non-compliers being referred to a court in Qatar’s Search and Follow-up department.
Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti minister has strongly denied claims the emirate is making plans to deport up to one million expats in order to reduce their numbers. According to Gulf News, social and labour minister Hind al Subaih has rejected the claim, adding there have been no surveys related to expelling expats. However, she added, there have been demographic studies focusing on expats’ social status, qualifications, gender and type of job, but these are being used as a database for solutions to the imbalance between expats and Kuwaitis.
Foreigners working in the emirate number around 2.5 million, about 66 per cent of the total population. In the past, parliamentarians have called for urgent measures to reduce expat numbers, with one suggesting a cull of around 1.3 million over the next five years. The same lawmaker suggested the each foreign community should contain no more than 25 per cent of the total of expats in Kuwait.
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