Leaving Town - Qatar
 

Hi All, I’ve just started the process of leaving Doha. Any tips advice on what to watch out for?

Things done:
- Cash is largely out of qatar (except enough to cover credit card limit + balance)
- Mobile phone moved to prepaid
- Police background certificate applied for

Things yet to action:
- sell car and other stuff (still need it)
- cancel lease (not given departure date)

Re: Leaving Town - Qatar
 

If you're not moving back to the UK, it may be worth applying for an international driving permit to help with your next move. Its a quick process at Qatar Automobile & Touring Club on C Ring. You just need your Qatar Licence, a couple of passport photos and 150qr.

Re: Leaving Town - Qatar
 

I suggest getting a clearance/non liability letter from your bank once you’ve closed your credit card and cleared other debts. Your employer may ask for this in order to pay your final salary.

Re: Leaving Town - Qatar
 

Once airside, take a selfie with the yellow teddybear. That's my best memory of 8 years working in Qatar!

Re: Leaving Town - Qatar
 

I'd cancel credit cards soon just to get it out of the way. No harm living off your UK credit cards for a bit.

Sell the car soon. Get it out of the way. Can take uber / taxis till you leave.

Good luck with the lease. I'm pretty sure you can't just snap your fingers and cancel the lease before the agreed end of date. There are exceptions for redundancies. But rent regulations keep changing so make sure you're aware of what's doable.

Say goodbye to Qatar and never look back! Two years was brutal enoiugh.

Re: Leaving Town - Qatar
 

-Prepaid phone will be canceled once your RP ends if you are with vodafone. Ooreedo can stay with you for longer. If you like to keep the number for whatever reason, better to change the number ownership to a local (friend) or to somebody who is staying in Qatar.
-If you are shipping any stuff out be careful of some nasty shipping companies. Some friends told me about their bad experience.
-If you need a police clearance apply for it on Metrash and then you need to authenticate it from foreign affairs.
-If you have school kids don't forget to authenticate the school reports.
-You can't cancel your RP before selling the car. So, try to sell it one month at least before leaving. You can use the metro or Uber in the meantime.
-When you leave the country, don't forget to take a picture next to the dummy bear.
-At immigration in the airport they will take your RP card. If you want to keep it as a souvenir then use the egate.
And finally do not forget to delete Ehteraz once in the airplane.

Re: Leaving Town - Qatar
 

Is it possible to drive with that international driving permit in KSA (or any other GCC) without having to convert ones license to KSA driving license?

Re: Leaving Town - Qatar
 

Dunno about other GCC states but in Qatar and UAE, only non-residents can drive using an IDP, ie only those on a visit/tourist visa or awaiting their residence visa. Otherwise your MUST obtain a local license after you've got your residency. TBH I wouldn't even bother with an IDP, most (if not all) GCC states accept a British license as long as you're driving as a non-resident.
HTH.

Re: Leaving Town - Qatar
 

Thanks for the replies.

One thing is that my bank is happy to give a quick turnaround on clearance if I leave a cash deposit against my credit card limit.

I did reduce the limit from small to half beforehand so this makes life a tad easier.