Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

We got an email today from one of our readers asking life and about practice of religion in Qatar. Lets me share with you some of our answers.

1. Exit Permit scenario is it true that employer supposed to hold the passport and you need permission from employer everytime  you want to travel or leave Qatar.
You get to hold on to your passport (unlike Saudi). However, government procedures impose that you need to get an EXIT VISA if your planning to go out of the country. That means, you need a written permission from your company that they're allowing you to leave the country plus approval from Immigration once you submit the requirements. This is applicable for anyone holding a WORK VISA. Families of the employee can leave Qatar anytime they want without the need for an EXIT PERMIT.

You can ask your company to give you a MULTIPLE EXIT PERMIT so you don't have to apply for an EXIT PERMIT nor get their approval everytime you leave. However, not a lot of companies give this to their employees.

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Hi, could u tell me how much are driving lessons? How many theory test do I need to take? I found myself a job in Doha and moving there before end of year. I need to learn how to drive. Been told that public transport there is almost non-existent and I cant rely too much on the taxis. I have some driving lessons here in Singapore but did not pass the test (extremely tough to pass here!) Have not been behind the wheels for a few years now.Since you don't have a license yet, you will have to enroll in a full driving course which costs QR1800 (25 hours) with 25 training days. The half course costs QR690 which gives you 12 hours of practice lessons. I am not aware though as to how many training days one should have finished before he could take the test. i think the...

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There is a stigma of working in the Middle East among middle/higher class in the Philippines that if you are not a construction worker, truck driver, engineer or domestic helper, one would not go there to work. Is this a misconception?Yes it is a misconception that people who work in the Middle East either hold blue-collared jobs or on the other side of the spectrum, engineers. You’ll meet a lot Filipinos working in different industries holding different positions and not just limited to what is stated above. From the IT industry alone, you’ll find Filipinos who are technicians, system administrators, programmers, developers, web designers, systems analysts. If you go to hotels, you’ll find Filipinos working as managers, chefs, chambermaids, bellboys. Even in the airline industry in Qatar, there are Filipino managers, secretaries, human resource specialists, and are ground and flight crew.If you actually do a research, I’m sure that more...

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Are salaries for same position in Philippines so much more than how they are paid here?This depends on a lot of factors. You have to be specific as to what job one is applying for. For blue collared jobs, it’s not like in the US where they get paid more and what they actually deserve. They also get paid by the hour. Here, the situation is very different. They do get more than what they might get in the Philippines but not that much. At least here, their incomes are stable and they get paid every month. In terms of working in food chains, shops and hotels, they probably get twice the salary they’d be expecting while in the Philippines. However, not every company is the same and benefits maybe different. Say example, a lady cashier in Lulu Hypermarket earns QR1200/month, she has to consider her food and other necessities...

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Are there Chinese in Qatar?I’m actually surprised that I see more Chinese people here than in Saudi and Bahrain but I’m sure that they don’t number more than the Filipinos. Most of them work for Qatar Airways as Ground crew or Cabin crew. I haven’t noticed a group with a family though....

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