Doha: To facilitate visitors and businessmen, the Indian Embassy is likely to start issuing multiple-entry visas with a validity of six months or more.
Currently, Indian Embassy issues a three-month, single-entry visa.
Talking to The Peninsula, P Kumaran, Ambassador of India to Qatar, said that the mission was working on the new plan.
He said that he wanted to facilitate people by granting them multiple-entry visas. “The current three-month time validity of visas will also likely to be increased to six months or more,” he said, adding that the proposal would “most likely” take a final shape during his next visit to New Delhi.
To another question regarding the opening of three new consular service centres in Qatar, Kumaran said that they would be opened in Al Hilal, Salwa Industrial Area and Al Khor.
“These consular centres are being established after conducting feasibility studies. Al Hilal is the central location of Doha, Industrial Area has a large number of Indian labourers while Al Khor is the hub of petro-chemical industry,” he said. Kumaran said that some community members had suggested opening of a centre at Mesaieed but survey results did not support the idea. He said the three new centres would start working in next four months. Kumaran said that new consular services centres would provide all services like visa services, passport services, police reports services among others. The power of attorney service will not be available at those centres as for it the personal presence of signatories before counsellor was legally mandatory.
He said the decision of opening new consular services centres had been taken to remove troubles in approaching the embassy. “It will bring convenience to Indian expats and others as well. People used to complaint that accessing embassy had become difficult as it was located in an area not easily-accessible and they had also complained that it was expensive for them to visit embassy,” he said.
