Moving to Doha - Need your help | ExpatWoman.com
 

Moving to Doha - Need your help

0
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 02 April 2014 - 14:18

Dear All,

We are thinking about moving to Doha from Australia. I have searched thru the forums for the questions that I am asking below, But please can you give me latest information because I believe that cost of living in Qatar has gone up in last few years & things keep changing frequently because Doha is a growing city.

Note - Accommodation is paid by Qatar Petroleum.

1. Total Monthly expenses for family of 3 people (elect, Phone, internet, FOOD)

2. Any child care or day care options for my 1 year old kid ( as I may start working..) ?

3. Is it difficult to get full time maid or nanny ?

4. If one can see many women employees at work place, like banks, insurance companies, government organisations etc ?
( In my country Australia, women & men ratio is 1:1 at most of the workplaces)

5. Can I work in Doha ?
( any special visa formalities required...)

6. My husband will work at QP near Qatar National Museum, please tell good family suburbs near this location ?

7. If local people of Doha are good (in general) ?

8. If Qatar Petroleum is a good employer..?

9. I heard that once you resign from Job, then you are not allowed to enter Qatar for 2 years. Is this True ?

10. If changing employer can be difficult in Qatar ?

Sorry, too many questions :)

Thanks
Seema

2725
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 21 April 2014 - 09:59
Yvonne04, I have to do visa runs all the time. on 30 days I have mine extended then the following month I hop on a plane to Dubai. Easy.
5
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 21 April 2014 - 01:46
Can anybody tell me visa processing time for pakistanis
219
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 06 April 2014 - 14:55
Yvonne Depending on what passport you hold , he can come and live with you but he will need to do regular 'visa runs ' to Dubai or Bahrain .
1759
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 05 April 2014 - 17:41
In normal circumstances you would not be able to sponsor a son when he is older than 18. If he can be enrolled in an appropriate tertiary educational institutions he may be eligible for a student visa. You may be able to plead your case that he needs ongoing parental support but it would probably be an onerous process with no guarantees of a successful outcome. All of these would apply anywhere in the GCC.
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 April 2014 - 17:17
Hi all.I was offereda teaching jpb in Doha. I am very worried that I wont be able to take my only son along. He is 22 years old. I was told by the agency that lawin Qatar dont allow him to be sponsored by me. I am a single parent and cannot see myself leave him behind. also he wasdiagnosed with Bipolar recently, but can have a functioning life.Any advice??? Or where in the Middle east will hebealoowed to join me? Desperate!!!!!
68
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 04 April 2014 - 07:59
To answer a few of your questions Getting a maid/nanny - as previously posted this can take 6 months before you can apply and then several more months to organise. Since the (unofficial) ban on maids from the Phillipines there has been more coming from areas such as Ethiopia and Bangladesh which has been a bit hit and miss due to lack of English and completely different cultural customs. This information is entirely second hand as I have never tried to get a full time maid and perhaps others will have better information they can share with you. I laughed at the previous reply about the local population. TBH I have not had very much contact with them in the 3.5 years I have been here. I agree that they are very polite in the shops (though its not pleasant to have smokers in Starbucks in the malls) and their reputation on the roads is something I contend with every day (though to be fair it may be another expat driver who kills you through incompetence). The parents that I have met through school are generally very pleasant and friendly though its usually nannies or drivers who collect the children and I know some may be reserved due to language barriers. The local community live by their conservative religious values and that's something you need to respect when living in their country but its not like they jump down your throat if you're showing your knees in the mall. Yes you can work in Doha but as a "local hire" it may be for a salary that would be considered an insult in Australia. Part time work is almost unheard of here and there is very little flexibility in most full time work (though again others may have had different experiences). If you get a job where you are under the companies sponsorship (rather than your husbands) then you will need their permission to leave the country for holidays, emergency travel or weekends in Dubai. Sorry if some of these sound negative but after the complete BS we were told by the recruiting people I would prefer to tell you the truth. QP has a reputation as a great employer so I'm sure that it will be much better in this case. Good luck with your decision.
2782
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 02 April 2014 - 14:54
2. Any child care or day care options for my 1 year old kid ( as I may start working..) ? Yes nurseries cater for 1 year olds, fees vary, my son goes 3 mornings a week and it costs around 2,500 per month. You other option is a nanny. 3. Is it difficult to get full time maid or nanny ? To sponsor a live in you need a permit and you will have to wait until you have your family RPs I think, whch could take 6 months. Your other options are an agency maid or an (illegal) live out maid. 4. If one can see many women employees at work place, like banks, insurance companies, government organisations etc ? ( In my country Australia, women & men ratio is 1:1 at most of the workplaces) Yes women work everywhere, there tend to be more men though. 5. Can I work in Doha ? ( any special visa formalities required...) You need your husbands permission and you will want any degrees/qualifications attested before you leave Australia. You can work on your husbands sponsorhip (preferable usually) or be sponsored by your employer. 6. My husband will work at QP near Qatar National Museum, please tell good family suburbs near this location ? 7. If local people of Doha are good (in general) ? Too complex a question to really answer. To generalise horribly, locals are charming and polite in cafes and awful on the roads ;). 8. If Qatar Petroleum is a good employer..? Friends I had who worked for QP were happy. 10. If changing employer can be difficult in Qatar ? You have to get an N.O.C from your sponsor, some companies are more forthcoming than others. I know plenty of people who have changed jobs.