Hayya Platform CEO, Saeed Ali Al Kuwari
Doha: Hayya, which is an entry permit to Qatar is not a work visa, according to Hayya Platform CEO, Saeed Ali Al Kuwari.
He stated yesterday at a press conference that Hayya is not a work visa and cannot be converted into one. In March, there were reports that scammers allegedly charge high fees and make bogus employment claims while offering the Hayya card as a work visa.
The Hayya visit types are Tourist Entry, Entry with ETA, GCC Resident Entry, Entry for Companion of GCC National and the Conference & Events Entry. People who avail this can stay in the country until January 24, 2024.
The permit was set to expire in January of this year, but was extended due to public demand to allow relatives and friends to enter the country. The Hayya platform was revamped and now serves as a single portal for all tourist and business visas to Qatar.
Al Kuwari explained that applying for Hayya is “straightforward”. “Just upload photos, documents and submit application.”
Additionally, he emphasised that the occasion determines the length of time for application of processing. “But as long as they comply with the required standards, data collecting, clarity of documents, I can guarantee that the reply is not more than 48 hours.”
On people being arrested on the misuse of Hayya card, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive and Qatar Tourism Chairman H E Akbar Al Baker said that individuals will only be arrested if they will forge the information that is available in the Hayya card.
He stressed that they are aggressively promoting Qatar as a major destination for family visits.
“We are doing a lot of investments in the tourism sector, building resorts; we have the finest hotels here... we have museums, entertainment facilities, leisure facilities... We really want to concentrate on family – family tourism, that is why our number is just around six million. We are the safest country, the most hospitable country; we have so many hidden gems around our country. We want to be a major destination for family visits and in this regard we are concentrating on a lot of infrastructures in order to deliver this exact purpose of this strategy.”
By 2030, Qatar wants to host six million visitors annually. According to the most recent figures, the country has already had 1,160,000 visitors in the first quarter of this year.
“These numbers also include a very successful cruise season that allowed us to showcase our new cruise terminal, but more importantly convert some of these cruise visitors to turn around visitors that are starting and finishing their journey here in Qatar,” said Al Baker.
“Our ambition is to attract six million visitors to our country every year by 2030; this will not only provide a valuable contribution to our economy but will help create employment opportunities across our country.”
