A new Qatar Visa Centre (QVC) will be opened in Manila, the Philippines, by the end of this month.

In this connection, the Visa Support Services (VSS) department at the Ministry of Interior (MoI), in co-operation with the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA), organised an introductory seminar Tuesday to explain recruitment procedures at the new QVC - as well as the benefits of the centre - to members of the Filipino community.

The upcoming opening of a QVC in the Philippines follows the launch of similar centres in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Nepal.

Major Abdullah Khalifa al-Mohannadi, director of the VSS, and Mohamed Ali al-Meer, director of the Labour Inspection Department at the MADLSA, addressed the seminar.

Major al-Mohannadi explained the recruitment procedures and benefits of the QVC and said the new centre, to be opened by September-end, would ensure the rights of both employees and employers.

The centre will enable expatriate workers in the Philippines to avail of services such as biometric data capture, medical examinations and signing of the employment contract in their home country.

On his part, al-Meer stressed the QVC in Manila would help simplify the process of recruiting expatriate workers in the Philippines.

The opening of the Manila QVC is part of the opening of 20 centres in eight countries - Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Tunisia. These centres will serve in speeding up visa procedures.

QVCs are being opened in different countries as part of the Qatari authorities’ efforts to facilitate and streamline procedures for bringing expatriates to Qatar. So far, 13 QVCs have been opened in five countries, with the last one launched in Kathmandu in May this year.

Broadly speaking, these openings are part of the plans to launch 20 such centres across eight countries - Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Tunisia.

Once the initial approval of the visa is issued from Qatar, a jobseeker can visit the local QVC to complete the recruitment procedures. The centres offer a unified channel to carry out such procedures, thus saving time and effort.

The QVCs are operated in co-operation with the MADLSA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Public Health.

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