Boomhauer

So what's the real scoop?

Qatar: Kafala system officially "abolished" | ConstructionWeekOnline.com

Is this really as significant a change as the article above describes it?

Understandably the worker interviewed by Al Jazeera is taking a wait-n-see approach
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/1...073333258.html

Johnnyboy11

The more it changes, the more it’s the same thing (plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose).

I will still need an exit permit on Friday to leave this desert paradise, and fully expect I will need an NOC to change employers.

martinbkk

You need to change the thread name that's all.

Qatar renames Kafala system.

Ali84

Like so many things here the changes are largely cosmetic with a few insignificant tweaks around exit permits and NOC's. Im just glad im on a multi exit visa so has little effect on me.

Big_Show

At the end of a fixed term contract you are now free to change employers without needing an NOC.

But the Ministry still need to approve your employment at this new workplace. So I don't really see much practical difference, although I hope to be proved wrong.

Dubaiexile

Story below from Gulf News, but does not set out any specifics!

Qatar to introduce new sponsorship system | GulfNews.com

tintriangle

I see no significant change to the nonsense that exists here.
However, I went to Immigration to obtain e-gate passes for my wife and me: I had forms, copies of passport, actual passport, NOC from my company and QAR 200 for each of the passes.
I expected a queue, to have to go to at least two miserable uniformed sods with rubber stamps before finally queuing and eventually obtaining a new QID with a chip.
We arrived, a very nice non-uniformed Indian chap took us both to a machine that, after scanning our current QIDs then took retina and index finger print scans plus a photo and off we went: 3 minutes each, no queuing and no payment, same QID.
Small victory but a victory no less.
Now let's see if these things actually work in the e-gate channel at midnight tomorrow as we (hope to) fly back to the real world for our Merry Winter Holiday.

Big_Show

I got mine earlier in the year and it really does make the whole process a lot quicker. Especially when you see the size of the queue at immigration on your way back!

tintriangle

I understand the old system worked well with the replacement, chipped card. But now that the natural selection process of cost, form-filling and company NoC requirement that made the chipped card 'exclusive' has been removed, I have a feeling that our fellow ex-pats from the more numerous nations will soon find out and the queues at the e-gate will be longer and maybe it will be quicker to revert to the use of a passport.

TheShed

This was my fear in Dubai when they introduced, firstly eGate, then passport recognition for certain nations and most recently automatic eGate for all ID holders. But hey, even given DXBs ridiculously busy throughput, I have never been more than 3 in a queue for eGate and its never taken longer than a couple of minutes.

Now if they could just open a few more hand baggage screening stations, that bottleneck would disappear.

weasel decentral

Should nominate that as a ME first world problem, e-gate queue is too long

tintriangle

Absolutely! Along with many of the items listed in a previous thread.
Can I just add that one of my pet ME first world problems has also at last been removed: that of having to drive up to the correct side of the pump to have one's tank filled at petrol stations, even though the pipe would have reached. Now at last Woqod has installed longer pipes on all its pumps: deep joy!
Now seeking replacement ME first world problem.