zuzu747

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Latest post on 03 October 2014 - 04:37

Bambii or Zuzu I believe you are both Canadian?? (Sorry if I am mistaken) but I am wondering about the police clearance letter and if it needs to come from the RCMP or can it be from a local police force?...I am so confused by this. I know the original has to be attested, but wondering if one from either police force is fine as long as it is an original. What did you both submit and was it ok for getting through the process and getting the visa approved? Thanks in advance. edited by abby86 on 03/10/2014 Hi Abby, yes I am Canadian. I know what you feel, the attestation process was very confusing. I was never told I needed an RCMP clearance, the handbook just said get a police clearance. I am in Toronto so I just requested a regular police clearance from my local police department. This needs to be notarized whereas the RCMP one doesn't (I have no idea why), so when I went and got it notarized the lawyer notarized the copy, not the original. Then I hired an Ottawa based company called Capital Authentication which took care of the attestation by DFAIT and Qatar Embassy. I was worried that this would be an issue given that it isn't the original, but when I sent the scanned copies to HR they said they are fine with it. SO this is what I will be taking with me to DOha. I initially went to Ottawa myself to do this, but dealing with Qatar Embassy can be challenging, they don't have a one day service like other embassies. But Capital AUthentication folks were incredibly helpful and pleasant to deal with -- they processed everything within 10 days and charged me just $50. I wish I knew about them before. ANd by the way, you don't need these documents to get the Visa issued. They apply the Visa for you as soon as you accept your offer. Good luck with it!

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zuzu747

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Latest post on 01 October 2014 - 07:23

Hi guys, I am in the same situation as Tilly. I was just told I will be staying at Saray Tower. I was hoping for the 44 West Bay tower, but I suppose it has filled up. Tilly, are you in Doha yet? If so what do you think of the apartment. Also, do they provide singles with 1 bdrm or 2? From the pictures they sent me, the inside of the apartment seems comparable to the West Bay buildings, however, I know the area is very crowded and not the most pretty neighbourhood...also probably a bit far from the Sidra office considering traffic. Is the housing department at Sidra flexible? I will be in Doha in 10 days, and I am not sure if I should ask about other housing options now or if I should just stick with this and see how it is when i get there. Thanks. edited by zuzu747 on 01/10/2014 <em>edited by zuzu747 on 01/10/2014</em>

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zuzu747

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Latest post on 02 September 2014 - 06:21

Hello Ladies, I just came across this forum and I am happy to see other Canadians making the move to Doha as well. Thank you all for the helpful info! I wish I had known about this in the past couple of months when I was going through the recruitment process which was at times a bit frustrating due to some long delays. I am thankful though, my recruitment person was quite pleasant. Darang, from my experience, the official agreement comes about two weeks after accepting the provisional offer. Where I had to wait for about a month or more was during negotiations before I accepted the offer. As for the start date, this depends on a number of factors. As soon as you accept the offer, they will apply for your permanent work visa, and this could take anywhere from 2-8 weeks. Mine took about 6 weeks, probably delayed due to Ramadan. Then they will ask YOU for your preferred travel date. If it aligns well with their biweekly orientation program, then they will book you the tickets. Their policy is that everyone will start work on a Wed, so they recommend that you arrive on the Sat or Sun prior to that so you can have at least two days to settle. From the time they told me I could resign from my position here, I asked for two months until I can make the move (in mid October), and they were ok with this. I think they will be flexible around this given that you have to wrap up things here and probably have preplanned vacation and etc. I don't know, maybe others have had other experiences? My question is around housing. I am single. They told me I will receive Sidra housing (I actually opted for this rather than the allowance) and that Sidra has three housing locations: 44 West Bay, AL Rabban,and AL Rayan Oasis. But they won't tell me which location I will get until two weeks before my departure. Having visited DOha a couple of times, I think i'd like the 44 West Bay Tower, but I am not sure if I will get this. Are there any single people who could share their experience on this -- do they give you a choice between the locations? I sort of dislike the idea of a gated community but renting out could be extremely expensive for a single person. Bambii, I am confused about the police clearance part. When I was getting it notarized, the lawyer made a copy of it and notarized that instead of the original document. So DFAIT and Qatar Embassy authenticated the copy. Will Sidra not accept this? Thanks <em>edited by zuzu747 on 02/09/2014</em>

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