Schengen Visa Application through French Embassy in Doha

I’ve just applied a Schengen Visa on 27 Sep 2011 through French Embassy in Doha. This is my third application (the first and second applications were in July 2010 and Feb 2011 respectively) and I find no changes in visa requirements (at least for business trip purpose) and processes, except for slight changes in visa form and visa fee to suit with current exchange.

Different embassies may apply different Schengen visa requirements and processes so requirements and processes here may not be generalized (for example: Germany Embassy in Doha requires that anyone planning to travel to Germany, Finland, Norway, Slovenia and Austria to apply Schengen Visa through a (WorldBridge) Schengen Visa Application Centre in Al Sadd, Doha)

As per French Embassy – How to get visa? website, the required documents for a short stay or transit visa :

• Visa application form duly filled in and signed by the applicant,
• Two applicant’s recent passport size photos WHITE background  (Personal Note: from Googling I came to know that passport-size photo for French Embassy is 3.5cm x 4.5cm)
• Copy of the passport and of previous Schengen visas
• Bank statement (last 3 months) showing salary transfer
• Copy of flight booking (round trip)
• Copy of hotel booking or of the « attestation d’accueil » stamped by French authorities
• Copy of travel insurance covering all medical expenses and repatriation up to 30000 € (Personal Note: For Qatargas employee and his/her dependents, just get an insurance certificate from HR)
• Copy of the invitation letter from the company in France in case of business trip

Non Qatari citizens have to attach also:

• Copy of the resident permit
• A letter from the sponsor showing clearly the monthly salary, the position in the company, the purpose of the trip, the starting date and the duration of the professional contract. This letter must state to guaranty the return of the applicant to Qatar after the trip

Please bear in mind that:

• Original passport must be shown when applying for a visa
• In order to take fingers prints and picture (new biometrical procedure), every applicant over 12 years must submit his own application.
• Administrative and security process before answer varies from a nationality to another and can reach 15 days. (Personal Note: Being an Indonesian, it takes 10 calendar days)
• Separate application form must be filled in for children; regardless of their age and even if they appear on their parent’s passport.

French Embassy requires that applicant makes an appointment online throught its official website. Nevertheless it’s not followed strictly. Once submitted all the required documents to one of the two counters, I was asked to pay visa fee and have finger prints taken and then given a slip. I shall come back in 10 days time to submit the original passport. Afterwards, visa (pasted on to passport) can be collected within the same day at the soonest or two days maximum. At the time of application visa fee is 60 Euro (paid as 303 QR).

French Embassy in Doha:

West Bay, Diplomatic Area, keep on “Al Corniche” following the Sheraton Hotel.

French Embassy, PO BOX 2669, DOHA, QATAR

Phone : (00 974) 4 402 17 77, Fax : (00 974) 4 402 17 01, email : ambadoha@qatar.net.qa

The Embassy is closed on Friday and Saturday

Opening hours to the public :

 consular section : 8h – 12h

 visas section : 8h30 – 10h30

Map – Coordinate: 25°19’48″N   51°32’12″E

Visa section is located on the basement. Mobile phone is prohibited to bring in. Leave it at security post.

 

Schengen Area

The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985. The Schengen Area operates very much like a single state for international travel with border controls for those travelling in and out of the area, but with no internal border controls.

The Schengen rules were absorbed into European Union law by the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999, although the area officially includes three non-EU member states—Iceland, Norway, Switzerland—and de facto includes three European micro-states—Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican. All but two EU member states—Ireland and the United Kingdom—are required to implement Schengen and, with the exceptions of Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Romania, have already done so. The area currently covers a population of over 400 million people and an area of 4,312,099 square kilometres (1,664,911 sq mi).

Implementing the Schengen rules involves eliminating border controls with other Schengen members while simultaneously strengthening border controls with non-member states. The rules include provisions on a common policy on the temporary entry of persons (including the Schengen visa), the harmonization of external border controls, and cross-border police and judicial co-operation.

Whether a passport or an EU approved national identity card is required for identity checks done at airports, hotels, or by police, depends on national rules and varies between countries. Occasionally, regular border controls are used between Schengen countries.

To know all countries where Schengen Visa is valid, click Wikipedia – Schengen Area.

 

Lost Qatar ID & Driving License? Here is next

You won’t expect it to happen but when it happened it happened. I lost both my Qatar ID and Driving License. Here is next steps based on my experiences. It may not be exactly the same steps as you will go through.

- Replacement of Lost Qatar ID

• If you lost the ID abroad, Obtain lost report/police report from any Police Station where you lost your ID.
• Have a letter from your company (a kind of NOC with additional info on request for replacement). It is in Arabic so I am not sure what is written there. Your company immigration officer knows how to do it.
• Go to the nearest Police Station and look for Lost & Found Section. Ask for Lost Report. Bring along company letter and if applicable, lost report from Police Station where the ID was lost. In my case, I went to Al Khor North Security. I asked the lady there for Police Lost Report and handed her a company letter, supporting lost report, and copy of ID. I paid 12 QR (cost for 2 @5QR stamp; not sure what’s the case for additional 2 QR)
• With the lost report, go to Immigration Office. Get a replacement ID for QR200 through credit card/debit card

- Replacement of Driving License

• This is my personal experience and may not be generalized.
• I went to Traffic Police in Rayyan (near Aspire). Ask the officer for replacement. The lady – knowing that I work for Qatargas (part of Q Company) – did not require a company letter or lost report.
• The lady gave me a letter with Return Date (two weeks from the day of report). I believe this is to give enough time if somebody by chance found my license.
• On the return date I went to the same Traffic Police and ask for replacement by handing her the letter, copy of my license and my ID. [If you return before the day you will find yourself waste your time, as the system has locked this return date to your driving license issuance. I tested it]
• The license is ready within minutes for QR250 by credit card/debit card

Anybody got different experience?

Lesson Learned: It is always a good idea to scan your ID, license, car registration, and print them some! Just in case!

Reference:

In Qatarliving, a QLer writes different steps though they are almost the same:

If your Qatar ID is lost,
1) Go to capital police station in crazy signal. Fill out lost ID form, Pay 10 QAR with either credit car or e-cash (no cash accepted). They will give you a report in 5 mins.
2)Go to immigration department in Madinat Khalifa (you may check exact location on maps.google.com by writing immigration department on the search box)
3)When you enter the immigration department, go to portacabins first and ask typewriter to write your application for you. (3 QAR cash. Typewriter doesn’t accept ATM, credit car etc. )
4)Bring this application to your company, you need company stamp on the application and sponsor’s signature (sometimes, immigration can give your ID without sponsor’s signature too. But stamp is necessary)
5)Bring the police report you got in 1st step, application form to same immigration department.
6) Enter the door,number 1 and inside go directly to counter 2. No need to get number for queue.
7)Pay 200 Qar with Credit card or e-cash. Your ID will be ready in 10 mins.

A friend of mine reported that police officer in Madinat Khalifa told him that we should report the case to any branch offices not main office in Madinat Khalifa. He was also told to bring a company letter and 1 passport-sized photograph.

 

Transfer RP to New Passport

Now as I have renewed my passport, I shall transfer my – still valid- RP from old passport to new passport. You can do it yourself to any immigration offices or let this matter handled by your company’s immigration section. I chose the latter.

Documents needed are:

• Old and new passports
• Copy of ID card
• Recent photograph
• Completed form (handled by Qatargas Immigration Officer)

Total processing time is between 2-3 working days. It can be much shorter – heard of within minutes(?) – if you handle it yourself.

Below is a quote from Hukoomi (Qatar e-Government) website:

When a resident of Qatar receives a new passport, he/she must arrange to have the residence permit transferred over. The sponsor may apply online to reissue a valid permit. 

Applicants are required to deliver their new passports to the Ministry of Interior’s Expatriates Affairs department in order to complete the procedure. A certificate of loss should be attached if the original passport was lost in Qatar.

 

Follow these steps to transfer the RP to a new passport:

• Fill out the online application form.
• Select the person for whom you wish to transfer the RP for.
• Select option for pickup or delivery.
• Pay appropriate fees.

Sponsors will be notified by SMS once the document is ready.

 

Renewing Indonesian Passport

Fast. Efficient. Cheap. Superb.

Those superlative adjectives represent services by Indonesian Embassy in Doha for renewal of Indonesian passport. Fast: it took only 2 working days. Efficient: simply by filling in form – available on Embassy website or hardcopy at consulat and visa section, present old passport and 2 passport-sized photo. Cheap – it costed me only QR80 per passport. Superb – customer-service oriented service by staff.

Detail information is available from Embassy Website under Consular Service dropdown tab..

• Consular and Visa section open from 8:30 – 11:30 AM, Sunday – Thursday except during holidays in Qatar and Indonesia
• Photo to be in RED background
• Renewal can’t be delegated
• Best to print and complete the passport renewal form at home

 

Family Visit Visa

What seemed difficult and scary turned out to be easy, quick and scareless. This happened when I tried to obtain a family visit visa for my brother in law. I heard bad news regarding rejected application, long queue, and hassle during visa application. This is particularly said to be true in the case of application for non-immediate relative in productive ages, and mainly male.

The process started with obtaining family relationship letter from Indonesian Embassy. To do that, you need your passport copy, ID copy, and related birth certificates to prove a true family relationship. It wasn’t taking so long. You can even wait for the letter to be prepared.

Once finished, you need to have a No Objection Certificate (NOC) (with mentioned salary) in Arabic from your company stating your intent to sponsor your family. This was quite a hassle; as I need to go back and forth thrice to company’s immigration officer. First, because the relationship is not correct (written as brother instead of brother in law), and second because of wrong nationality. Lesson learned: always check NOC for correct information, ask native Arabic speaker for proof-read.

So, with my relationship letter, NOC and other copy document (passport, RP, ID of mine and my wife), and passport copy of my brother in law, I went to the immigration office. You can go to any immigration office, in Doha (Madinat Khalifa) or Al Khor. Best practice says that Al Khor immigration office is preferred due to minimum queue, and easy approval. Another best practice says that bringing along your wife when meeting with officers are desirable as it is said increase the probability of application approved.

Al Khor Immigration Office is located at main Al Khor road, between Security Department and Fire Station. If you come from Doha you need to make U-turn at the roundabout near Al Khor Corniche. The office is just short blocks from there. Office is open from 6 AM until 12.30 PM. If you come early in the morning no queue number system used.

Ask for a visa application form and a queue number at the last right counter. Then you need to go to a typist which is outside the building, opposite cafeteria, next to electrical enclosure. Give the documents to the typist and he know what he shall do. 5QR is enough for him.

In my case, you can normal to expect that my application would be rejected as my brother in law is in productive age. However, once we stated our reason to bring him in is for hajj related issue, and I bring my wife, the friendly immigration officer seemed has no reason to reject. The officer went to “captain”, who is next to him for approval, and the captain signed the document without even asking to us. After that, we made 200 QR payment using debit card. Khalas! No more than 15 minutes in total.

With application number written on the slip given, I can now check status of visa application through MOI website. The next morning I got an sms from metrash stated that the visa is ready to deliver, meaning it is done and ready to print. What a service!

Visit visa is valid for 3 months and is for 1 month stay. I can then save and send the visa to my brother in law, or alternatively give him the application number and my Qatar ID number for self-printing.