Under this service, available at the dedicated e-resident counters at the GPO, expatriates have to simply fill up the forms for renewal of the RP and the ID-card. They have to submit these completed forms with a passport-size picture of the person whose RP and ID card is to be renewed along with a photocopy of their own, valid ID card at the e-resident counter. Appropriate fees have to be paid in the form of Revenue Stamps available at Counter No-15 of the GPO. Once the required documents and fees have been submitted, officials at the e-resident counter key in the data on their computer connected to the database of the Department of Border Passports and Expatriate Affairs and renew the RP.
The renewed RP is printed out in the form of a sticker, bearing the picture of the holder and pasted on the spot on the passport.
Simultaneously, the ID-card gets printed and is handed over to the applicant. The entire process takes just a few minutes, depending upon the number of applicants in the queue.
The new and instant system was also found to be cost effective: Expatriates renewing the RPs and ID-cards of their family members do not have to pay a single riyal extra. Enquiries revealed, the e-resident counters at the Doha GPO work till 1pm on weekdays.
In addition, expatriates and Qatari nationals can also renew the RPs and ID-cards of other persons such as domestic workers who are on their personal sponsorship using this system. The e-resident counter also offer the facility of transferring the RP from an expired passport to a new one- a common requirement for expatriates.
Quelle: The Peninsula, 02.05.2005
