Kenyan parliamentary delegation briefed on Qatar Visa Centres project

A delegation from the Kenyan parliament visited the Ministry of Interior where it was briefed on the Qatar Visa Centres project initiated by Qatar a year ago to facilitate the recruitment of labour from abroad.
During the meeting with the Kenyan delegation, Director of the Visa Support Services Department at the General Directorate of Passports, Major Abdullah Khalifa al-Mohannadi, and representative of the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs, Mohamed Ali al-Meer, made a presentation about the project and its objectives and the target countries in the first phase and plans for future expansion.
Major Abdullah Khalifa al-Mohannadi said the meeting aims at introducing the Kenyan side to the advantages of the Qatar Visa Centres project with a view to inaugurating a centre in Kenya. He pointed out that the project is being carried out in two phases – the first is to open 20 centres in eight countries.
He added that 14 centres have been opened in six countries since the start of the project, namely Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Nepal and the Philippines. He said that work is underway to complete this stage.
He added that the second phase will see the inclusion of more countries, including Kenya, Ethiopia and other Asian and African countries. He pointed out that the ministry is working to study the countries of expatriate workers that were not covered under the project with the aim of covering all countries from where workers are recruited. He added that the next stages of the project will include all visas issued by Qatar.
He stressed that the success of the Qatar Visa Centres abroad in its first phase, which is nearing completion, prompted many countries’ delegations to visit Qatar to learn about the project.
The project aims to facilitate and simplify the procedures of recruitment in general and protect the rights of expatriates and ensure their safety and facilitate all procedures for their entry into the country, as well as verifying and documenting the process of their employment and accelerate their work under simplified, smooth and effective procedures.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Ali al-Meer said that the Kenyan delegation learned about the experience of Qatar in opening Qatar visa centres abroad and the possibility of opening a centre in Kenya to facilitate the completion of the procedures for the recruitment of Kenyan expatriates, as these centres use an accurate electronic system to complete all recruitment procedures easily.