Qatar announces PR for expatriates

Kathmandu, Sept. 21

Qatar has announced to provide permanent residency (PR) to expatriates.

Qatar is the first Gulf nation to offer such facility for the foreign residents living permanently for more than a decade.

Embassy of the State of Qatar in Nepal said on Thursday that the government had started to distribute the PR cards to the expatriates living there for long.

Any foreigners having continuous normal legal residency in Qatar for 20 years if born outside and 10 years if born in the country will get the PR permit, according to  Yousuf Bin Mohammad Al-Hail, Ambassador of Qatar to Nepal.

“The applicant should have enough income to meet his needs as well as his dependents. He should enjoy good conduct, and reputation, and have not been convicted by a final ruling inside or outside Qatar in crimes that undermines honesty, trust and fame unless he was reinstated to his former status,” read a press statement issued by the embassy.

The requirement to be able to apply for the PR permit also includes fluency in Arabic language.

However, the children of Qatari women married to  non-Qatari men, non-Qatari husband or wife of a Qatari woman or a man, and individuals who have done great services to the country are exempted from those conditions.

The PR holder’s spouse and children will enjoy the privileges granted to the PR cardholders pertaining to residence, health and education until the age of 18 years.

 They will also have the right to invest in the activities of the national economy sectors without a Qatari partner.

“The PR holders may own real estate for housing and investment and may leave the country and return to it during the period of its validity without obtaining any consent or permit,” read the statement.

According to 2017 statistics, the Gulf nation has 2.6 million population, of which only 313,000 are Qatari citizens and 2.3 million are expatriates.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 22 September 2018.