DOHA: Residents of Qatar can now apply for family visit visa electronically through Metrash2 or MOI website, said a report released yesterday by the Ministry of Interior. The Expatriates Affairs Department at the General Directorate of Passports has received 15,500 requests for family visit visa in May, while the General Directorate of Passports received 53,000 visa applications at its service centres across the country.
It showed an increase of 27.5 percent compared to April, as it received 12,200 visas and the General Directorate of Passports received 49,000 visas at all service centres. The family visit-visa application service is one of the most important services requested by the residents.
According to the report, the Ministry has launched a new electronic service that enables residents to apply for family visit visas electronically through Metrash2 mobile application and MOI web portal. This comes in line with the keenness of the Ministry to go in tandem with the latest technology developments to make its services accessible anytime from anywhere, in accordance with the National Vision 2030.
Brigadier Abdullah Ali Al Mohannadi, Director of the Expats Affairs Department at the General Directorate of Passports, said that the e-application service for family visit visa for residents is added to the services of Metrash2, which exceeded more than 150 services. Through this service, the user can upload all the required documents in the allocated fields and can track the status of requests and pay the fees electronically once it is approved.
He added that in the case of missing or non-matching of any attached or requested documents, the applicant will be notified about making required changes. The applicant will receive the application number to proceed for the fee payment after the application is verified and approved.
This service is specific to the residents for their families including father, mother, wife, children or relatives of the first and second grades. The Ministry has introduced this service as it forms a large part of the services provided by the Expats Affairs Department, Brigadier Abdullah Ali Al Mohannadi added.
The Ministry had evaluated the service over the last two months and 100 percent success was proved. The General Directorate of Passports (GDP) will evaluate the service on a daily basis and make further developments due to its importance in reducing the number of visitors to the GDP Headquarters and service centres in order to obtain the service easily and efficiently for the residents.
Brigadier Abdullah Al Muhannadi called on the residents to submit the family visit visa electronically through the MOI website or Metrash2, as in the next stage the application for family visit visa will be accepted electronically only, instead of any paper transaction.
For his part, Brig. Abdullah Salim Al Ansari, Asst. Director of Expats Affairs said that the General Directorate of Passports is now receiving requests for family visit to residents through Metrash2 and MOI website, along with accepting applications manually in specific cases. He noted that this electronic service was prepared by the General Directorate of Passports in cooperation with the General Directorate of Information Systems at the Ministry, and the service has been put in a pilot phase to maintain any unforeseen technical error and modify it immediately.
