NRKs make the most of Qatar's visa policy

KOZHIKODE: Non-resident keralites (NRKs) in Qatar have been making the most of the visa-free entry facility offered by the country by taking families for short visits to the Gulf nation during the summer vacation season.
Qatar had introduced a visa waiver programme for citizens of 80 countries, including India in August 2017, to counter the the air, sea and road blockade by its neighbours.Currently, Qatar is the only Gulf country to offer visa-free entry to Indians.
With travel to Qatar becoming hassle-free-with no need for paying for visa charges and waiting for visa processing-expats have been taking families to Qatar instead of coming home during the school summer holidays.
"There has been a spurt in passenger traffic to Qatar, mainly of families to make use of the visa-free entry facility currently in place in Qatar. There was a lull in traffic after the blockade by Gulf countries last year, but now it has picked up and passenger traffic has increased by around 10% compared to same season last year," P V Vijesh, manager of Al Hind Travels said.
S A M Basheer, a Keralite expatriate in Qatar, said there has been a perceptible increase in Malayali families visiting the country. "Like many others Keralites here, I arranged for travel of my mother-in-law to Qatar using the visa-free facility. Earlier, one needed to submit an application and wait for up to a week to get the visa after payment of around 200 Qatari riyals in addition to service fees. Now, visitors from India can just purchase a return ticket and board a flight to Qatar. Going by the crowds, I think Malayalees are in the forefront in utilizing the facility," he said.
According to the visa- free entry regime in Qatar, Indians can enter and stay in Qatar without visa for 30 days. The stay period can be extended to another 30 days on request. "The immigration desk at airport only checks if you have a return ticket and sometimes they might ask for a copy of the residence ID of the person who would be providing accommodation to the visitor," Habeeb Rahman, an expatriate working in a petroleum company in Qatar, said.
According to the Kerala Migration Survey 2016 conducted by the Centre for Development Studies, Qatar accounted for 8.6% of the total of 2.24 million Kerala emigrants abroad.