happy_feet

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Latest post on 20 December 2015 - 17:22

Can any one tell me where will I find crafts items at one place in qatar. Hi, Would you mind telling exactly which craft you are interested in because the answer would depend a lot on that. For example if it is dressmaking or something similar, you can find cloth material in souq area and matching thread absolutely anywhere, if it is cross stitch and similar then u can find small selections of sets in all the above mentioned places including some supermarkets too. Similarly is it knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, card making, origami, painting, sketching, fabric painting, polymer clay, zentangle etc etc ?? So if you can be a bit more specific, it would be little easier to share what little resource is available in doha or we can do a comparison between what is available here against getting from outside.

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Latest post on 23 November 2015 - 13:36

Hi ladies... I am movin to doha in the coming month. My husband got a job with the airline. I was wondering how long it takes for me to get my residence visa after my husband gets his? I want to come up and apply for it as we need it for school application. Should i enter the country on a tourist visa or they will give a residence entry from day one and process along? How long is their procedures now? im askin as im taking my daughter ofd school from home to apply for her visa for her new school application. Thank you soo much ladies Hi, If by airline company u mean Qatar Airways and his rank is above grade 8 then he will get RP within a week and can apply for urs and daughter’s family visa which again will take another week. Once u are here in family visa, u can apply for ur n d’s RP and it will take another week. Thats it. But it can differ from person to person. Just check ur papers twice before u submit so that everything is in order. Hope that helps.

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Latest post on 20 August 2015 - 15:07

Hi By now you must have known that it is a govt hospital and most of the things there are done either for free or for a very nominal fee. So you can imagine the waiting list there. I have no idea about your situation like which department you need and how urgently you need the surgery. I myself had once enquired there when I had a sever asthma attack. When i was talking to the person from Hamad over phone, I was barely able to breath and he told me the minimum waiting time for to meet a doctor is 3 months. So i had to go to another hospital. So if I were you, I would first try to get an appointment and meet a doctor in the concerned department and depending on my urgency may make other arrangements, may be look at going to some other country that I would be able to afford. Dont get alarmed, just keep your options open. Best of luck.

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Latest post on 20 August 2015 - 13:58

That seems to be a good idea. I saw your other post regarding the studio space. Well there is a dance studio hall in Radisson Blu hotel near ramada signal, salwa road. A lady used to rent it out for ballet class. My daughter was attending the class for few months. But now I do not know about the situation there. You can contact the hotel and check it out.

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Latest post on 19 August 2015 - 17:44

Hi Please don’t get me wrong, i don’t mean to discourage you, but have you checked, if it is legal in this country or not?? As per my understanding you need to partnership with a Qatari for any kind of commercial thing. But I think if you are working in a dance studio here where they already have a license and other documents and you are an employee, then I think it is possible. Better check it out, even I am not very sure of the rules, just heard them for some other people. If you get any information please post it here, so that it will be helpful to others. Best of luck.

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Latest post on 10 June 2015 - 11:53

Hi Sveta, All the above advices are good. My contribution would be, if you have the flexibility of choosing your residence, then good. You can stay near whichever school your daughter gets into or else here school run is a nightmare. We have suffered a lot for 1 term and next term immediately we changed the school without waiting for 1 full year. So if you are staying in Al Wakra, then you have choices like DBS and if GEMS British medium is opening. But if you are staying in city IMO a much better choice is Pearling School on B-Ring road. They have lot of vacancies, so getting a place there is not at all a problem. My daughter is studying there and I am happy with the school. They also have very good bus services. School fees may be on a higher side, so enquire about it before deciding on it. The campus is quite big with different sections of play area, swimming pool, canteen etc. If you are in city, it is much easier accessible than any school in Al Wakra. Hope this helps.

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Latest post on 09 June 2015 - 13:36

We applied for UK visa today. Any idea how long it takes to get the visa?? thanks.

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Latest post on 04 May 2015 - 14:41

My 2cents, This question in many forms has been asked many times in this and other similar forums and many people have replied in +ve and -ve ways, showed the pros and cons on many different points. But till now I have not seen a single remark on the work culture or office environment. May be for most of the people over here, their office environment would be great or the work culture would be great. But for my husband and many people who work in other companies here, to whom I have talked to, have a very –ve opinion on it. The work culture IS NOT like anything you would expect in western or developed countries. It is very frustrating and very limited to absolutely none, to show your real talent. I feel while deciding to accept the job or not gather as much information as possible on the work culture and the office environment. To describe the job in Qatar, in a single sentence would be “all that glitters are not gold”. But again people have different priorities in life. You should do what is best for you and your family. Good luck. <em>edited by happy_feet on 04/05/2015</em>

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Latest post on 04 May 2015 - 14:02

dear Spaintactic , as you have mentioned dr talal is in farha children clinic, is this doctor only for kid's asthma or does he treat adults also?? do you have any recomendation for adult asthma doctor?? went to al ahli hospital had the worst experience (for dotor, not the hospital) in my life. thanks

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Latest post on 09 April 2015 - 21:21

Hi I know this is an old post but came across it recently. Can anybody tell me the name of the shop in Dar Al Salam Mall in Abu Hamour which shoesnbags has mentioned?? And has anyone tried Caramel, do they have a shop and do they source materials for baking?? If there is any other shop in doha which exclusively sources materials for baking then please let me know. (anything other than Tavola, Lakeland and major supermarkets) Thanks a lot.

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Latest post on 25 March 2015 - 10:09

UPDATE – Went to the ‘Kitchen Kraft’ on B-ring road which is bang opposite to Pearling School. This was a very well stocked place. I think you can consider it as a heaven for a baker. All kinds of pots, pans, roasting trays, springform pans, cupcake pans etc with baguette pan, pasta maker, icing nozzle, sizzler plates…. can be found here and icing of the cake is, it is much much….. lower price than any super stores like lulu, Carrefour or almeera, almost like wholesale prices. I got a beautiful ceramic coating non stick pan (made in Italy), I think for half the cost of any supermarket price. I felt the store is more targeted towards restaurants and commercial bakeries. I have not visited any other stores that JillMV mentioned here, but this store was a great find. Thank you so much JillMV for writing about them. I got the parchment paper in megamart and for only 2.50 qar for the roll (don’t remember the length). Now my quest is to find a store where they sell edible bakery supplies like meringue powder, glucose, cake gel, all kinds of edible colors, edible glitters and shines, vanilla/almond extract etc. I have already been to all saupermarkets like lulu, Carrefour, almeera, megamart including tavola, Lakeland, al rawnaq etc. But I found their choices are very very limited. If anybody knows any local stores who stock these or any other things that professional chefs use please mention them. Thanks <em>edited by happy_feet on 25/03/2015</em>

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Latest post on 11 March 2015 - 09:15

Thankyou ladies for your help. Maple: I have been to lulu so manytimes and have bought clingfilm and aluminium sheets, but had no idea they sell parchment papers too. Thanks for the information. JillMV: Hi I did a google search for Kitchen and Co, but the address they have on their website is industrial area. Do you know if they have anyshowroom on Salwa road?? I live very close to megamart. Royal Art Kitchen and Al Halabi, i got their websites and can figure out their locations. For New House Complex, do you mean near the intersection of Rawat Ali Khan road and B ring road?? because when I googled for Al Muntazah St, it shows Rawat Ali Khan road . I will check it out today when I go to pick up my daughter from Pearling School. Just out of curiosity, if you dont mind, do you bake professionally?? If anybody else has anything to contribute, then please mention here.

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Latest post on 20 January 2015 - 16:45

UPDATE All those who want to know where Tutkey Embassy is, well it is located in the 'Diplomatic Area' of westbay. There are some other embassies present in that compound too like British Embassy, Egypt Embassy, Lebanese and Algeria too. After you cross the entrance of the diplomatic area, you will come across a mousque where you will find lots of cars parked and some busses standing. There you have to park the car and go to the security officer standing near the bus. He will take a photo of your RP and sometimes check your papers too. Then you sit on the bus and they will take you inside the diplomatic area where embassies are located. You can get down when you reach the embassy you want to go. After you are done there, again you stand infornt of the embassy and the bus will come and pick you up and drop you near the mosque. This is how it works. FYI if anyone is thinking of getting a tourist visa to Turkey, if all of your papers are in order then they give you the visa in 2 days.

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Latest post on 18 January 2015 - 08:44

hi Lillyhammer, First of all from the above discussion you must have guessed that GEMS school is quite far away from doha city. I have no idea exactly where is Al Rayaan compound, but if you go by google map search of the compound then GEMS school is ridiculously far away. You can do a google map search of the school as well to see for yourself. Now comes the assessment. You have not written what is your first language or which class you are seeking admission to, because these both factors contribute to what is asked and expected of your kid. If your first language is English or even if it is not but your kid knows English fluently, half of your battle is won. Next depending on the class they may ask something academically. When my daughter went for the assessment at DBS, for reception, they took all the kids that had come for the test into a big room and asked to do some things with blocks and other things. I am not very sure because parents are not allowed to enter that room, but two kids were crying, so they allowed their moms to go inside. My first language is not English, but my daughter knows the language quite well. They kept all of them for 30-40min and after 3 days mailed us that she is offered a seat. But don’t worry too much. If it is a new school like DBS (Wakra) or GEMS or Pearling, then getting a seat is fairly easy. <em>edited by happy_feet on 18/01/2015</em>

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Latest post on 14 January 2015 - 18:56

Of course one would check the google map before asking in a forum. Actually, in google map it shows here, but in their embassy website, they say it is in Dafna but the address given by them i.e. the street name and all is not recognised by google map. And some people in some other forum (long back) have told it to be near phillipine embassy near rainbow roundabout. So it is very confusing as to the exact location. I was hoping if anyone knows exactly where it is. Anyway thanks for replying.

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Latest post on 14 January 2015 - 07:57

Hi Sorry I did not mention it earlier, Pearling has IPC curriculum, which is basically a British curriculum. If you prefer only American curriculum, then GEMS may be the only choice now. Another thing, if you at any point decide to take school bus, then be very particular about the timing. DBS was starting at 7am and they told me pick up will be at 5.20am and monthly 900qar. I would suggest, if possible, do a test run on a weekday to the school. Then you will have a fair idea. Again if you prefer only American curriculum, I do not think you have any other option as of now. Better enroll the kids in GEMS and enlist in waiting list of your choice of schools. But keep one more thing in mind, suppose you enroll in GEMS for the first term and say after 20-25 days of school days you get a call from one of the other school, then if you want to back out from the present school, they will not return the 1st term fees or any other fees other than the security deposit and you have to again pay for everything in the second school. If your company will reimburse also, they will not pay twice for the annual things like, books or stationaries or tablets (Pearling School are taking money for that) and certainly not the 1st term fee again. I hope you think on all the issues and then decide. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. <em>edited by happy_feet on 14/01/2015</em>

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Latest post on 11 January 2015 - 09:05

Hi expat1983, I do not have my kid in GEMS. So no idea about the school. But I can definitely give you some idea on the driving time. I live in Bin Mahmoud, near Megamart (The Center Mall). My daughter was going to DBS, Al Wakra. Morning it takes nearly 50-60min one way. That means around 2hrs in the morning. Afternoon it takes 40-50min one way. So around 1 and half hour in the afternoon. And as the school started at 7am, we normally left home around 6.10-6.15 am in the morning and were always late by 5-10min. For leaving home at 6.15, we had to get up before 5am and by the time my daughter came home it was around 1.30pm. She was always very tired and never concentrated in studies. After school activities was out of question. As you live much up north and GEMS is another 2 km down south from DBS, just calculate the time it will take you in the morning rush hour. As I had already paid the first term, we continued there for the first term and now from the second term my daughter is in Pearling School. I am very happy with the school. It is bigger, with better facilities. As my daughter is in Reception, I am not very worried academic-wise, as I can take care of it at home. As it has been only a week, I can’t say anything about teaching, but it seems good. So why don’t you try Pearling School, it has also opened last year and at least it will be much closer to you than GEMS. Website is http://psisd.com.qa/ Hope this helps.

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Latest post on 20 December 2014 - 16:30

Hello everybody, I was wondering if anybody can give me any information as to where roller skating for kids is taught in doha. It will be for my daughter who is 4yr 3months old. The only information that I could find was ice skating coaching in city center. But I am more interested for roller skating. So any information on classes regarding this will be helpful. Thanks.

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Latest post on 06 November 2014 - 11:37

Hi A3, As you must have researched and known by now that getting a place in ones preferred school is quite difficult as seats are very limited. The main things for you to consider before you select a school is where you are going to stay ( I did a mistake by admitting my daughter in a school which is quite far away and now will be changing her to another school in 2nd term. Doing school run in Doha during school hours can be a nightmare). If you are flexible with your residence area then next thing to consider is to get both the kids in one school so that it would be easy for you to manage both of them and also easy for them as they will have each other (change of place and that to change of country can be sometimes quite hard on kids). And as it is best for you to go with British curriculum, the schools become more limited. My 2 cents would be apply to as many British schools as possible and then see where all the criteria meets. As it is extremely difficult to get an immediate place in the schools you mentioned (i have heard people wait in their waiting list from a couple of months to even a year to get a place), better apply to some new schools like Pearling International School (British) which has opened this year. DBS also has a new branch in Wakra but they have I think only till year 4 ot 5, just check it out. There are 2 American schools also which have opened this year like GEMS and VIS. Although these schools have yet to establish themselves, but you can be sure that your kids have a school to go to, from the very next day you land here. For last couple of years it had been really hard on expats to get their kids in school as there were not enough schools in Doha. I have heard that some people had to home school their kids for upto a year before they got a place in any school and some people never moved here because of the school situation. But this year 4-5 new schools have opened and now any expat coming to the country can be sure to get a place in a school for their kid, may not be their preferred school but at least they have something and can enlist in the waiting list of the school of your choice and once you get a place there, you can move. Hope this has helped. I am also relatively new here, 5 months. I was also worried for my daughter before coming, as I had heard how difficult it is to get a school place here, but with new schools coming up things have changed a lot.

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Latest post on 23 October 2014 - 11:00

Hi I did not answer your question earlier because I thought someone with a more updated knowledge and particularly the availability of this book in doha would answer. I needed it may be around 5-6yrs back in another country. Anyways, I have been in doha for only 5 months, so i can’t exactly help you about finding the book in doha. But i assume that you must have covered all the places in doha where you have a chance of finding the book. And as it is not available here the only option is to get it from abroad like amazon sites. I don’t think the digital copy is sold, so if you want to buy the digital version also you can’t do it. You will have to buy a hard copy only. If you have a PO Box, you can ship it directly to doha, but if you do not have one (then I think getting one for 300Qar for just 1 year for a single book is not worth also), the only other option is getting through shipping companies like shop and ship etc. Shop&Ship has a promotion going on now for $10, you can get a lifetime membership and if you are going to live for quite some time in gulf countries then trust me, this will come very handy. If the shipping thing does not work for you, then the only option is to get an illegal digital copy of the book from the internet. But let me tell you, that is totally illegal and unethical also. I would not have mentioned this if it had been a story book or a fun book, but this book is an absolute essential if you want to pass the PMP exam. I know the importance of this book and the importance of PMP exam. So first try very hard to buy the book but if everything fails, look hard on net. The digital copy will be somewhere there. Best of luck for your PMP exam.

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Latest post on 25 September 2014 - 11:36

Well Lego blocks both duplo and regular ones are available in Lulu, Carrefour and toysrus (haven’t looked anywhere else yet), but very very limited choice. Same goes for other brand/type toys, like play doh etc. They are even costlier here. ‘Shopnship’ is also an amazing option if you want to buy from US or UK.

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Latest post on 18 September 2014 - 13:04

Hi Scc1, When I moved to Qatar (mid June 2014), I was in the same position. I had left all my lovely baking equipments back in my home country but I love to bake and do it very often. I also did not want to invest heavily on the baking equipments as I know while going back I would not take them back with me. Long story short, I found a couple of items here and there which are really really cheap but always remember you get what you pay for. Although these things are not that great in quality, they have done their job perfectly till now. I got some cookie sheets from Carrefour for QR 7 each. They are Carrefour brand only. Next I got some loaf pans from Al Meera again QR 7 each. They are Al Meera brand. They are I think 295mm X 155mm X 41mm. You can get some basic pans, bowls, whisks (not electrical, just hand held) and measuring cups from Daiso in Hayatt Plazza again QR 7 each. For electrical whisk you can go for a hand mixer for less than QR 100 in most of the supermarkets, but I have an eye on Kenwood Prospero for QR 1300 in Lulu/Carrefour but have not yet decided that i will buy it or not. If you do not find these things suitable for your need like sizes or any other ways, then you can always buy the disposable aluminium foil ones in supermarkets like Lulu or Carrefour. Like for cupcakes you can use the disposable aluminium small bowls they have etc. If someone has bought any other baking related things then please share your inputs here. i am always in lookout for these things. Happy baking. <em>edited by happy_feet on 18/09/2014</em>

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Latest post on 08 September 2014 - 14:02

Hi My daughter will be in reception and we live in Bin Mahmoud. Are you going to depend on the school transport or are you arranging your own?? The reason I am asking because when we asked them about it before admission they assured us there will be transportation from private companies and today after talking both with the transport guy and school people, I think there will be no transportation, at least for few months. So I was wondering what other parents are planning to do. I also asked the school about tomorrow’s events like if parents are expected to stay for the whole time or just pick up and drop them and what they have planned for tomorrow. But it seems the person from administration do not have any idea what plans the school has for parents and kids. All she could tell me for sure is that students have to stay in the school for the whole time. Well that is obvious. So do you have any idea about tomorrow’s itinerary or something?? Sorry so many questions. Bye Thanks.

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Latest post on 20 August 2014 - 11:31

Hi doutre1, I had seen you post few days ago and thought someone who has bought baby foods from market recently may answer your questions. Anyway my daughter is now 4 yrs ( she turned 4 few days ago, on aug 13th ) old, so she doesn’t fit to baby category anymore. When she was a baby I used to purchase cerelac and netsum of nestle a lot, but never bothered with anything else. As you would know, they have all these in different flavours and in different age categories. Along with these, I had started the solids as early as when she was 6 months old. Her first tooth started to grow when she was 6 months old and by the age of 1yr, she had around 4 teeth. The main foods that I cooked for her were soft half-boiled egg (put the egg in warm water and put on flame and boil for exact 7 min, any longer, it would be little solid and difficult to chew at that age), different types of soups and porridge and i always added little sugar and little salt to everything i cooked. Other mashed things like start with potatoes and go to pees and other vegetables and fully ripe fruits could also be given. One thing i used to do regularly was give half of a ripe banana very regularly in her cerelac, and instead of mashing it, which i could never do properly, i used to grate it finely. Now as she is a toddler, i try to feed her everything that we eat, except too spicy foods. There are tons of other things that i tried with her when she was a baby, and now also I try. We rarely eat out in restaurants and it has decreased even more after we moved out here in Qatar, mainly because we are still kind of new and still exploring. Another reason is my daughter doesn’t like outside food very much, same goes for my husband. DD is not very keen on chocolates or ice creams or sodas and she hates store bought burgers and pizzas and other foods which I have seen kids of her age love very much. If you need any recipes or ideas then let me know your baby's age and your food habits. I can share some ideas with you. Hope this helps. Feel free to write to me if you have any more doubts or would like to know anything else. Bye. <em>edited by happy_feet on 20/08/2014</em>

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Latest post on 20 August 2014 - 11:01

Hi node, About the shampoos and perfumes – well I will not dare to send them in cargos because of chances of breakage and spilling and damaging other items in the box. But you can always bring them with you when u r travelling by air. Just pack them nicely and put in your check in baggage. The air travel rules for all country are same and normally you must have some personal experience also if u travel that the airport authorities do not open all the hand luggage and check in bags on a regular basis. They will just open in case they doubt something. Anywhere I travel I always carry my perfume with me, and most of the time all my toiletries also like body wash and shampoo and body cream etc. Recently we went for a vacation and i travelled in Qatar Airways, both going and coming, carrying all the above mentioned liquids in my hand luggage as we did not have any check in luggage at all and I did not have any problem at all. I had them packed nicely and in a transparent zip pouch. I even carried semi-liquid baby food all the time with me when my daughter was very small. Only once I had a problem (in another country) with a liquid which was milk + baby food in a thermos, when the airport authority asked me to take a sip of it. I just took a sip of it and everything was fine. (actually that was a special day for checking in that place, long story). So you should be perfectly fine with all your liquids as long as you put them in your check-in baggage. Nobody bothers. Now hi Fauna, When my DH came here, he applied for his RP immediately. He got the RP within 15 days actually 13 days to be exact. Then he applied for our visas which he should have gotten within another 15 days but there was slight carelessness from his HR manager (she lost a certificate) and a small misunderstanding in visa dept (DH has done his MBA after his BE, but the visa person thought MBA to be a diploma and not post graduate degree, so DH had to meet him and explain this to him.). Due to this delay, visa took around 25 days. So I and DD came through sponsorship visas and not visit visas. After we came, we also applied for RP and got it within 2 weeks, just before Ramadan. Now about the 6 month waiting period, well I think this rule differs from employer to employer, grade of the job, salary and the papers which they ask are in proper order or not like properly attested and all. So 6 month waiting is not a necessary but again as I have mentioned above, it depends. Better you talk to your employer about it and what policies they are having. I hope I have answered your questions. If you have anything else do let me know. Bye.

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Latest post on 19 August 2014 - 10:04

Hi coveredgirl, If you are already in Doha you must have known by now that people prefer schools close to their residence or vice versa keeping in mind the distance to the work place is also not very far, due to heavy traffic. Well that being said, if location is not a constraint for you then there are 2 good schools coming up near al wakra, one is GEMS school with American curriculum and one is second branch of DBS school with UK curriculum. Google them both, u will find them. Both the schools are starting this year and hence getting a place is relatively easy and both of them have good reputation. If you want you can try them out. My daughter is currently going to summer camp in daffodils nursery in airport road and will start her reception in DBS wakra in Sept 7th. No I am not from UK and yes we will be changing our current residence very soon as we currently stay in bin mahmood. Hope that helps.

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Latest post on 19 August 2014 - 09:41

Hi node, We moved here (me n DD) in June but my husband came in mid April. We had cargo allowance of 300kg and I had sent some around 9 boxes weighing around 250kg. We had been told the only restriction in cargo is explosives, liquid and perishable items (particularly food) and battery operated toys or books or clocks etc. So other than those I had sent many things like lots of my daughter’s books and toys (she will go to reception from Sept), cloths including towels and bed-sheets etc, shoes, some vessels and crockery, some dry cake decorating items like sprinkles etc, some decorative items etc. Basically I had sent all those things except groceries, that I thought we will need in a furnished apt for at least a month or so. Of course groceries and other small small things like water cans etc u get from nearby small stores which can be found in every nook and corner in walking distance if u r staying inside the city. Those stores even do home delivery over phone. Along with us we carried only the normal things that u carry in air travel and there were no problems. What I would suggest is, by now you must have known that this is a conservative country where modesty in every form is expected may be in clothing, speaking, behaviour etc, hence if u have any doubt about any of your belongings then better to send those things in cargo. You may not have any kind of postal address before u land in this country, and in that case either ur family or friends can send it to you here once u come and get some kind of po box nos or if that is not a suitable option then talk to your employer and see if they can provide you with an address. We were given an address and told to send there and we loaded it just 2 days before DH was due to travel and he got it within 7-8 days of his arrival. A mail came to his office id that your cargo has arrived, please arrange for pick-up. He took another 3-4 days as his company accommodation was not ready. Once he moved to the apartment from hotel, he went and picked up the cargo. BTW as far as I know cargos are not immediately opened, they are run through scanners and if they doubt any objectionable things (mentioned above) are there, then only they are opened. So any kind of books or dvds etc can easily come but better to be careful about the contents of them. FYI almost everything is available here, may not be your specific books, but what I have got in my cargo, almost everything is available here. And you can always check out in Amazon or other stores for the digital versions of your books if you are interested and either store them in cloud or carry them in a tab or kindle or memory drives, wherever you go. Little less cargo to bother with. Lol. I do not know if this mail has answered any of your questions or not. But if you want to know anything else, do let me know. Bye and all the best.

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Latest post on 09 July 2014 - 09:00

Hi oz4, When my husband was offered a job in Qatar, he was asked to join immediately, but at that time the company he was working for in our home country had an agreement with him that the notice period will be 3 months. That means from the date he resigns, he has to serve 3 months in the company before he is released. So he asked the present employer to wait for 3 months, which they agreed. But as his project was getting over within 2 months, that company agreed to release him after 2 months which he conveyed to the Qatar company and gave them the date when he can come to Qatar before 1 ½ months. So when it was time to come, before 2 weeks they sent the visa and tickets for him. So I am not the right person to tell you normally how long it takes for the work visa, because my husband gave them the date nearly 1 ½ month ago. So they had that time to arrange the visa. That being said, while my husband was considering to accept this present job offer, we did a lot of research on Qatar, and one of them was work visas and RPs. I have read so many stories on the net and from them and from my personal experience I have found that everything depends on how big and influential your employer is, how badly he needs you and if all your papers are in order or not. If these three things seem to be ok then there should not be any major huddle in getting things done, like visas or family sponsorships or exempt from other rules like mid-term school admissions etc. Bye.

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 July 2014 - 10:25

Hi Can you be little more specific?? Like are you waiting for work visa or RP, because both of them are 2 different things. As of my understanding, your employer arranges your work visa through which you enter the country. After arriving only, you have to undergo medical test and then finger printing and then only you can apply for RP. How can you apply for RP without entering the country?? Now if the above is correct and you are waiting for work visa and it is getting delayed then there can be many reasons to it. One such thing happened with us when my husband was applying for family visa for me and daughter (he already had his RP). First when he gave all the documents to his HR manager, she lost one photocopy and without even checking submitted them. The ministry people complained that one photocopy is missing. Then again after submitting it, visa was denied. When my husband went and enquired, they asked him his highest education was a degree or diploma, as the grade he was in, required a bachelors degree. Actually after completing his bachelor’s degree, he has done MBA which is awarded as diploma in post graduation management of……. But the officer thought that MBA was a diploma and did not read that after diploma it was written post graduate which means this degree you get after bachelor’s degree. When DH mentioned this to him, he understood and family visa was granted. I have heard lot of other reasons also. So find out the reason for your delay and go accordingly, as it varies from person to person. That being said, this is Ramadan time and normally things move very slowly in this country during this time. Best of luck. Bye.

31

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 08 July 2014 - 09:29

Hi ilyas, I can tell you my experience on this. I arrived in this country for the first time just a month back with my daughter. My husband had come 1 ½ month before. Regarding all the family members coming together, we also had the same query as my daughter is 3yr 10 months old and i did not want to travel at a later date alone with her. But by reading different forums and talking with the employer of DH’s, we came to a conclusion that it would be better if DH came first and then we joined. Because if we all wanted to come together, then DH would have come by work visa, and we would have come by tourist visa. Then after DH got his RP, he would have applied for sponsorship of us and then our visas would have been converted. Although people have done all these, but we found out that it is a very lengthy and confusing process which involves lots of paperwork and going to different government offices. And more over without the RP, u can’t even lease the accommodation or even rent a car (in our case, as I am not from UK). And adding to all that the tourist visa I think is valid for a month or so and by the time it expires if your visa is not converted (there can be many reasons like ur husbands RP did not come in time, to change your visa they require some more documents and you don’t have them immediately etc) then u have to leave the country and again come back. People have done that also by taking a weekend vacation in Dubai. But for us in a new country, going through all these hassles was not worth it. So DH came alone, got his RP under 15 days (13 days to be exact), applied for family visa for us, which took another 15 days time (again it should have been within 7-10 days but due to his HR manager’s negligence, they lost a photocopy of one of his certificates before submitting,and also there was another misunderstanding with the govt dept as they thought MBA was a deploma and not a post grduate degree, it took little long), then we booked the ticket on a suitable day for us, and here we are. I would suggest, if you and kids can manage to come later and join your husband then it would be the best solution, but if u all must come together then the process would be your husband’s work visa will be taken care by his employer, you people have to apply for tourist visa, then once your husband has his RP, you can convert your visas. Now about the school, my daughter got a place in DBS, Al Wakra Branch. We have yet to collect the admission letter (we are going tomorrow). They have few seats in reception and do an assessment before they offer you a place. They have opened till year 5. So you may get admission there, but I have no idea if you can get the admission in Dec/Jan. Even I have heard that if a child is starting school for the first time in Qatar, it has to be in Sept, but have heard that people get exemption from this rule all the time. There are even 2 new schools coming up in Al Wakra, one is Gems American School another is VIS. Both are American schools I think, they have just online registration available at the time and have not started the actual admission process. So in school front I would advise that go for schools that are opening newly rather than an established school, as getting an admission in a new school will be fairly easy. Next year you can try for admission in whatever school you want. Next about the attestation of documents. Yes it needs to be attested by Qatar embassy in your home country. In our case we have attested the highest education certificate and certificate showing DOB of DH (mine also same as i are planning to apply a job here may be in future) my DD’s birth certificate and marriage certificate. Regarding immunization card, for my country, I did not get any such card, just the vaccination card of my daughter whose photocopy I had to submit in school while applying for admission. I hope this helps. I am also new to this country and had all the anxieties, queries.... like you are having, few months back. Please don’t worry too much, everything is going to be fine. Please feel free to ask me anything you would like to know and I would reply to the best of my ability and knowledge. And again as I have mentioned earlier I am not from UK, so some country specific things may vary. Best of luck with your move and I hope it becomes a positive experience for you. Bye.

31

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 29 May 2014 - 13:10

Hi Rosette My answer may not be hundred percent relevant to your problem but thought to add my 2 cents. DH got through his visa process quite smoothly and received his RP within 15 days but when he applied for family visa for me and DD, it was rejected. When he went to meet the officer he found out that his post was manager for which he needed BE (Bachelor of Engineering) degree. DH after completing his BE, has also done MBA (Masters in Business Administration). When he was asked to submit his highest degree certificate, he obviously submitted MBA certificate and not BE certificate. The MBA certificate is awarded as Diploma in Post Graduate Management..... The Qatari officer who had checked his certificates earlier and rejected the family visa, thought his degree and job is mis-matching, because he has a diploma and working in a post which requires bachelor’s degree. I think he did not bother to read after diploma, where post graduate is clearly mentioned in DH’s MBA certificate. When DH met the present officer he explained that he already has a graduate degree and MBA is actually a post graduate degree. Now the visa is cleared and i and DD are travelling on 14th June. This may not be your case but thought it might be helpful to someone. Bye and best of luck.

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