An excellent service

Dear Sir,

We are delighted so many Qataris are travelling to the UK for tourism, business and other purposes. We issued almost 33,000 visas last year - almost double the number in 2010, with a further increase of almost 30% expected in the first quarter of this year - and are proud to offer an excellent service. We promise to give 90% of applicants a decision within three weeks, and in the past two years have never broken that promise: the average applicant gets his/her visa in under five working days.

We are constantly looking to improve the visa process, for example, with a priority visa service and online applications, appointments and payments.

lWe have also introduced our priority visa service for those pressed for time. For an additional QR564 an applicant can have their application processed more quickly – normally within two days. There are some exceptional cases where we cannot process an application as fast as we would like, and we provide a contact to raise these cases separately.

lWe constantly look to make the visa process easier, and we have now introduced online applications, online appointments and online payments as well as a refurbished premium lounge in the application centre. And we offer six-month multiple entry visas as standard.

lAnd we treat everyone fairly: the immigration rules governing entry into the UK are applied equally to all nationalities. Interviews are an opportunity to make sure we have all the relevant facts from an applicant before we make a decision.

British Embassy, PO Box 3, Doha


Green light timing must be increased

Dear Sir,

The stretch of road between the Midmac flyover and Qatar Decor traffic signals experiences a heavy traffic congestion from 7am to 10am every day, frustrating thousands of people in a rush to reach their workplaces.

Starting from the flyover, it takes 25 to 30 minutes to cross the Qatar Decor junction.

If the timing of green lights on the traffic signals at the junction is increased, the congestion could be reduced. I hope traffic authorities will look into the problem and find an immediate solution to it.

 

Syed Jalaludin, PO Box 17409, Doha

 

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