ANZBIQ Australia and Waitangi Day: Queensland Flood Relief BBQ

This has been sent in by a reader:

I have been asked to let Doha know about this event to raise funds for the Australia flood appeal.

This year’s ANZBIQ Australia and Waitangi Day BBQ will be a benefit relief for the victims of the recent Queensland floods.

The benefit will take place at the Grand Hyatt – Hotel Garden on 3rd Feb 2011 from 7pm to 12pm. Tickets will be QR 220 for adults and QR 110 for children (under 6 are free) which will include a Grand Buffet dinner with live cooking stations with an Australian and New Zealand theme, drinks and a live jazz band.

Grand Hyatt, Qatar Airways and Vodafone will be sponsoring the events and have donated some great items for our silent auction including return flights to Melbourne, Iphones, blackberries, a weekend stay at the Grand Hyatt, dinner vouchers and more.

It’s a great way to give something back to those affected by the floods.

This event is open to all so please spread the word to the community at large.

It will be a great event.

Please book your place directly with the restaurant at Grand Hyatt on 448 1240


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The secret identities of Qataris online

Qatar is a strict society, which can exert strong pressure on people - especially women - to behave in a certain way.

Which is perhaps why Qatar residents are taking to social networks in their thousands to express themselves in a way they can't do offline. And to preserve their new-found social freedom, many of them are doing it in secret.

In our latest article, Ola talks to some of the Qataris and Qatari residents who are using manufactured online identities to say things and behave in a way they would never do in their real lives.

Although for some, their online lives already feel more real than their offline ones...

Read Qatar Social Networks and the Secret Online Identities of Qatar Residents online for the full article.

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Asian Cup 2011

The 2011 Asian Cup kicked off with a spectacular opening ceremony and then the opening match Qatar vs Uzbekistan.

Unfortunately for the hosts, Qatar lost 2-0 in a poor game and many supporters were heading for the car park long before the end of the match.

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Qatar Visa Update: Visa on arrival for GCC residents

The first class lounge at Doha Airport

Some GCC residents can get visa upon arrival in Qatar. Exactly who can get these visas depends on their job and the designation of their visa. For example, a a doctor would be granted a visa while a labourer would be refused one.

One of the questions we frequently get is just who is allowed into the country. Handily, the Qatar government has now published a list of allowed proffessions, which we have reproduced below.

Visa upon arrival will cost you QAR100, and the visa will be valid for one month. The visa can be extended at the end of each month with payment of additional fees, up to a total of three extra months.

To get the visa you must have a passport valid for at least another 6 months and possess a return ticket. Please remember visa regulations can change suddenly, and always check with your travel agent/airline before you come to Qatar.

For more information about visas to Qatar click here.

List of proffessions who can get visa upon arrival in Qatar:

1. Aquatic specialist

2. Statistics specialist

3. Agricultural specialist

4. Gardening specialist

5. Medical analysis specialist

6. Speech specialist

7. Breeding specialist (animals/birds/bees)

8. Medical X-ray specialist

9. Nutrition specialist

10. Zoology specialist

11. Psychiatrist

12. Lab specialist

13. Sports medicine specialist

14. Sociologist

15. X-Ray specialist

16. Media specialist

17. Customs specialist

18. Medical therapy specialist

19. Writer

20. University professor

21. Media person

22. Secretary or director of library

23. Staffs at embassies in GCC (except support services jobs)

24. Archeological researcher

25. Administrative researcher

26. Legal researcher

27. Professor

28. Trader

29. Geologist

30. Quantity enumerator

31. Referee (sports)

32. Finance/Economics expert

33. Law expert

34. Information Systems expert

35. Diplomat (Members of diplomatic corps)

36. President/CEO

37. President or director of a university

38. Chief Justice

39. Head of Prosecution

40. President or director of a club

41. Weather expert

42. Earthquakes expert

43. Captain of Ship/Cruise/Carrier/Steamship

44. Businessman

45. Religious person

46. Architectural draftsman

47. Business lady

48. Executive secretary

49. Journalist

50. Pharmacist

51. Jeweler

52. Army officer

53. Police officer

54. University student

55. Physician (All specialisation)

56. Surgeon (All specialisation)

57. Veterinary doctor

58. Pilot

59. Scientist

60. College dean

61. Astronomer

62. Artist (Actor, Musician, Composer, Poet, Painter, Singer…..etc)

63. Telecom technician

64. Professional security and safety technician

65. Medical equipments technician

66. Control equipments technician

67. X-ray technician

68. Dental technician (fixing)

69. Radio or TV transmission technician

70. Optical technician

71. ECG technician

72. Horse breeding technician

73. Mining technician

74. Microscopic technician

75. Geology technician

76. Well drilling technician

77. Pharmaceutical technician

78. Foodstuff technician

79. Ship maintenance technician

80. Aircraft maintenance technician

81. Train Maintenance Technician

82. Lab Technician

83. Aviation Technician

84. Physicist

85. Judge

86. Chemist (All Specializations)

87. Player (All sports items in a sports club)

88. Author

89. Computer Programmer

90. Translator

91. Accountant / Auditor

92. Lecturer

193. Lawyer / Advocate

94. Economic Analyst

95. Systems Analyst

96. Operations Analyst

97. Director

98. Customs Clearer

99. Sports Trainer

100. Aviation Trainer

101. General Professional Trainer (Industrial/Agricultural/Commercial)

102. Teacher / Instructor

103. Proofreader

104. Investment Manager

105. Archeological Director

106. Research & Studies Director

107. Insurance Manager

108. Banking business Manager

109. Production Director

110. Manager or Director of any government departments or companies

111. Administrative Manager

112. Broadcasting Manager

113. Media Manager

114. Regional Director

115. Bank Manager

116. Commercial Manager

117. Marketing Manager

118. Television Manager

119. Executive Manager / Director

120. Cooperative Society Manager

121. Accounts Manager

122. Cinema Director

123. Company or Factory Manager

124. Maintenance Manager

125. Printing and Publishing Manager

126. Hotel Manager

127. Electrical Manager

128. Finance Manager

129. Sales Manager

130. Museum Manager

131. School Manager

132. Plant Manager

133. Theatre Manager

134. Hospital Manager

135. Institute Manager

136. Library Manager

137. Laboratory Manager

138. Marine Transport Manager

139. Land Transport Manager

140. Air Transport Manager

141. Tourism Agency Manager

142. TV or Radio Programs Presenter

143. Correspondent (Newspaper/Radio/TV)

144. Food Controller

145. Aircraft Takeoff Controller

146. Maritime Controller

147. Quality Controller

148. Air Controller

149. Marine Traffic Controller

150. Media Controller

151. Road Controller

152. Aircraft Landing Controller

153. Cruise Ship Guide

154. Tourist Guide

155. Aviation Guide

156. Surveyor

157. Assistant Pharmacist

158. Co-Pilot

159. Assistant Engineer (All specializations)

160. Consultant

161. General Supervisor

162. Ships Supervisor

163. Banker

164. Decoration Designer

165. TV Cameraman

166. Cinema Cameraman

167. Press Photographer

168. Land Hostess

169. Air Hostess

170. Program Producer

171. Ship Captain

172. Aircraft Pilot

173. Male or Female Nurse

174. Cinema or Television Producer

175. Marketing Representative

176. Sports Representative

177. Sales Representative

178. Procurement Representative

179. Administration Coordinator

180. Archeological Prospector

181. Engineer (All specializations)

182. Career Counselor

183. Assistant General Manager

184. Captain

185. Commercial Broker

186. Travel or Tourism Agent

187. Prosecutor

188. Ministry Undersecretary

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Image above by Stuck in Customs

Qatar Airways refusing bribes

There's a nice blog post on Like the Clock today. The writer, Seth, described how he tried to bribe Qatar Airways to take his overweight bag. Four officials politely refused a bribe but waive the additional overweight fee anyway. Qatar is taking a lot of stick at the moment over the World Cup, some of which has to be bitterness from losers, but in five years in Qatar I have never come across corruption.

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How to get plastic surgery done in Qatar - at a fraction the normal price!

Qatar is undergoing a plastic boom, with more and more women (and some men!), both local and expat, going under the knife.

While the procedure is free for locals, expats also benefit from prices which are a fraction of those in the West!

In our latest article on the QatarVisitor website, Yousra Samir reports on whose getting it done, where, how much it costs - and how to choose a good surgeon.

See Plastic Surgery in Qatar for the full article.

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Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways is the fastest growing airline in the world - and with a gigantic new airport under construction it's likely to stay that way. It's also an integral part of Qatar's plans - the airline's advertising positions Qatar "half way to anywhere" - and as such the idea location for the stop over market needed to fill the rapidly increasing number hotels in its capital.

All of which mean it is well overdue some attention from a website dedicated to Qatar! Following on from our interview with the Qatar Airways HR team, we take an indepth look at the Qatar airline. See Qatar Airways for the full profile.

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Qatar Airways Jobs

Qatar Airways is a huge employer, with thousands of employees working for them both directly and indirectly, and both within and without Qatar.

Unfortunately for job seekers, there can be intense competition for these jobs. So in our latest article for Qatar Visitor Yousra Samir asks the people in the know, the Qatar Airways HR team, for tips for finding jobs with the Doha based airline.

Check out Qatar Airways Careers for the full interview!

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Qatar sponsorship changes coming!

Update: After double-checking, we have been told that this is still under discussion, with a decision to be made safely.

As long term Qatar residents know, employees leaving their jobs (and failing to obtain a letter of no objection from their employer) face a ban of two years before they are allowed to return to Qatar.

A reader recently wrote to us asking if it was true that the two year ban had been changed to six months.

We have been asked this before, and always upon checking had found that the ban was still six months. However, we thought we had better check again.

To our surprise our HR contact (no use checking with Qatar embassies - they never reply!) informed us that the sponsorship ban will be changing from 2 years to 6 months in 2011. He also told us that big changes were going to happen to the Qatar sponsorship situation as a result of the 2022 World Cup.

We are still trying to verify this information, but it looks like the Qatar sponsorhip system could face some drastic changes!

Also see: Qatar Visas

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Qatar Comedy

A message from Amesia at ILoveQatar. net:

Don't forget that famous comedian Edwin San Juan will be performing in Qatar this Wednesday along with Erik Griffin , Mohammed Kamal, and Fahad Qureshi! But that's not all, Ahmed Ahmed has also just announced that he's going to be bringing some laughs too!

Click here for details.

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Qatar wins world cup bid!

The UK bookies who recently pushed Qatar into the the favourite position for the World Cup were right.

Against all odds, Qatar has won the 2022 World Cup.

Admittedly, Edwin Eduardo, writing about Qatar 2022 World Cup chances for QatarVisitor.com earlier this year, had assessed their chances as being extremely good:

Qatar is very close to going down in history as the first ever Arab nation to host the World Cup.

And as we quoted then, the Fifa President was keen on the idea:

The Arabic world deserves a World Cup. They have 22 countries and have not had any opportunity to organise the tournament.

Huge hurdles

But Qatar still had huge hurdles to overcome in winning the bid.

The FIFA team assessed Qatar as having the riskiest bid, while the US queried whether Qatar intended to air-condition the whole country.

Not so often voiced were other problems: the difficulty of a conservative Islamic country playing host to thousands of drunken fans, the issue of Israel...

These hurdles still have to be overcome. But for now Qatar, which will be the first Arab country ever to win the Qatar World Cup, can ignore the inevitable sniping and celebrate.

Also see:

Hundreds of Thousands of New Jobs in 2022 World Cup

Qatar Asian Cup
Qatar Football
Qatar Football Crowd and the Qatar National Anthem

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Want accommodation in Beverly Hills, Qatar?

The following is a message from a QatarVisitor reader:

We live on the Beverly Hills Al Rayyan compound. We have a three bedroom family apartment.
We are leaving Doha on 14th December 2010 (this month)

Anybody interested in taking over our apartment please contact us:

email address: david_lewington@hotmail.com

mobile number: 33210543

David and Natasha Lewington

Note: If you are looking for accommodation be sure to check out Qatar Accommodation: Essential Do's and Don't.

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