Illegal residents can avail amnesty by Dec 31 without any legal action: Official

Ministry explains grace period procedures to correct legal status

Illegal residents can avail the amnesty offered till December 31, 2021, without any legal action against them, a Ministry of Interior (MoI) official has said.

The Ministry of Interior called on the expatriates residing in the State violating the provisions of Law No. (21) for the year 2015 regulating the entry and exit of expatriates and their residence, to utilize the grace period announced by the Ministry to correct their legal status inside the country and allow them to leave the country exempting them from all legal responsibility. The grace period started from October 10, 2021 and will end on December 31, 2021.  

Interacting with the community leaders, who visited the headquarters of the Search and Follow up Department (SFD) yesterday evening to witness the facilities and the arrangements made by the SFD for receiving the applications from the violators of the law No. 21/2015 for their status correction during the grace period, Capt. Kamal Tahir Al Tairi, officer at the SFD explained about the target groups and the proceedings followed in their regards.

Who can benefit:

1- The expatriate who stays in the country violating the law by not obtaining or not renewing the residence permit and who has exceeded a period of 90 days from the validity date, and an absconding complaint hasn’t filed against him by his employer.
2- The expatriate who stays in the country violating the law and an absconding complaint (leaving the work – violation of the purpose) has been filed against him by his employer, but 30 days have not completed from the date of filing the complaint.  
In such cases, their departure will be ensured by the SFD and they will be exempted from all consequences of legal responsibility, while their return to Qatar on another visa will be possible.
3- Family Residence Permits and Visitors who have violated the Period of Stay
4- The Expatriate who have violated the law and an absconding complaint (Leaving the work – Violation of the purpose) has been filed against him by his employer and more than 30 days have been passed from the date of complaint filing.  
The SFD will ensure their departure and they can return to Qatar if they leave the country after accepting the legally prescribed reconciliation.

5- In addition to this, an expatriate whose residence permit has been cancelled and has passed 90 days from its cancellation can also return to Qatar if he leaves the country after accepting the legally prescribed reconciliation.

In all cases, the deportation of the minors under the age of 18 will be without a ban to return to Qatar, regardless of their violation of the provisions of the law, and they are exempted from any legal consequences, Capt Al Tairi said.

Capt Muhammed Al Rashid, officer from the Unified Services Department explained the services provided by the Unified Services Department through the Ministry of Interior's Services Centers during the status correction period.

He said that the Unified Services Department provides its services during the correction period to the expatriates violating Law No. (21) for the year 2015 that regulates the entry, exit and residence of expatriates who wish to stay inside the country after correcting their status through the five service centers at Umm Sulal Services Center, Umm Sunaim Services Center (Previously Industrial Area Services Center), Musaimeer Services Center, Al Wakra Services Center and Al Rayyan Services Center.

Who can benefit:

Residence Permits

1- Residence Permit holders (who have violated the Law No. (21) of 2015 that regulates the entry, exit and residence of expatriates) who have passed 90 days from the expiry date of the residence permit and wish to move to another employer.
2- Residence Permit holders (who have violated the Law No. (21) of 2015 that regulates the entry, exit and residence of expatriates), against whom a ‘leaving work’ complaint has been filed and they wish to move to another employer.

Work Visas

1- Holders of work visas (who have violated the Law No. (21) of 2015 that regulates the entry, exit and residence of expatriates) who have exceeded 90 days from entering the country without issuing a residence permit and wish to stay in the country after correcting their status, provided that the approval should be obtained from the Labor Department for the same nationality on the new recruiter VP.
2- Holders of work visas (who have violated the Law No. (21) of 2015 that regulates the entry, exit and residence of expatriates), against whom ‘Leaving Work’ complaint has been filed and  they wish to stay in the country after correcting their status, provided that the approval should be obtained from the Labor Department for the same nationality on the new recruiter VP).
No application will be accepted from the violator or the person against whom a ‘Leaving Work’ complaint has been filed after announcing the grace period starting from 10/10/2021.  

Explaining the procedures at MoI Services Centers, he said that the applicant has to submit the filled form in any one of the 5 Services Centers of the Ministry of Interior and after verifying the application to ensure compliance with the conditions, the Service Center staff will transfer it to the Labor Department for its decision.

The whole process at the MoI Services Center will take only 2 minutes and in normal cases, the Labor Department will take its decision on the application within 5 working days if the application meets all the conditions specified by the concerned authorities.

Submission of the filled designated form for status correction, which is available on the website of the Ministry of Interior and a copy of the establishment's registration card for the new employer are the requirements for application for correcting the status inside Qatar, said Capt. Muhammed Ali Al Rashid.

Left. Ahmed Ghurab Al Marri, technical affairs officer from the  Search and Follow up Department welcomed the community leaders and introduced them the services of the SFD rendered to its inmates and explained the work procedures at Search and Follow up Department during the correction period.

 He said that the violating person has to approach the Search and Follow-up Department (the main reception hall) along with his passport  and an open travel ticket. The concerned staff will verify the data and complete all the necessary procedures within 3 minutes in normal cases and upon completion of them, a travel permit is issued to the violating person and hands it over to him to go to the airport as per the schedule mentioned in the ticket as an ordinary passenger, while adhering to the Covid-19 precautionary measures followed in the country.

The working hours of the offices at Search and Follow Up Department and 5 MoI Services Centers are from 1 pm - 6 pm from Sunday – Thursday.