(For illustrative purposes only. Photo credit: iStock by Getty Images)

Additional images courtesy of Sayed Ali Zakir Naqvi

Qatar’s Ministry of Interior, along with officials from the National Human Rights Committee, held a second induction seminar on Tuesday evening, September 26, 2017, at the Civil Defence Officer’s Club for members of the Pakistani, Nepalese, Filipino, Malaysian, and Indonesian communities.

The gathering offered a chance for representatives from these communities to ask questions, and highlighted the application process for cases to be submitted before its Exit Permit Grievances Committee. The formation of the Committee was announced amid the reforms to Qatar’s Labour Law which were declared on December 14, 2016.

Currently exit permits can be applied for directly by employees through Metrash, MOI Qatar’s digital government e-Services portal. Employers will then have 3 days to raise an objection, otherwise the exit permit will be granted.

If you have a grievance or dispute with your employer over the issuance of an exit permit, you can approach the Exit Permit Grievances Committee and lodge a complaint.

Here’s how you do that:

• Email [email protected], or,
• Fill out a grievance form in-person at the Committee’s main office in Traffic Department headquarters, Madinat Khalifa.

What happens next:

• You’ll receive a follow-up case number.
• You’ll receive an SMS confirmation that your grievance has been registered.
• The Committee will issue a decision after 3 working days.
• To reach a decision the Committee will contact both you and your employer
• You’ll be notified of their decision via SMS, email, and/or telephone.

If the ruling is in your favour:

• Your exit permit will be issued to you directly by the Committee.

If the ruling is not in your favour:

• You will receive notification via SMS, email, and/or telephone.
• You can register an appeal directly with the Ministry of Interior.

Here’s how you do that:

• Your appeal must be registered within 24 hours (1 day) of the Committee’s decision.
• You can register your appeal using the same [email protected] email address.
• The Ministry will issue a further decision on your case after 2 working days from the date of when your appeal was registered.
• If no appeal is raised after 24 hours (1 day), then the Committee’s decision is considered final.

In cases of partnerships where expatriate business owners have a Qatari business partner or sponsor, the Committee stated that grievances over the issuance of an exit permit would be treated in the same way – whether the relationship is one of employer/employee, or business partners.

The Exit Permit Grievances Committee convenes every Sunday and Wednesday to review and assess cases, with officials at Tuesday’s induction seminar reiterating the Committee’s adherence to full transparency.

Have you had to lodge a complaint with MOI’s Exit Permit Grievances Committee? If so, drop us a line in the comments below and tell us about your experience using the system. Also, don’t forget to like and share this article!

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Ashlee

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