Qatar International School

Handbook for new sponsored staff

(abridged version for new candidates)

2019-20

Introduction Welcome to Qatar International School (QIS) and to your

new life in Doha.

This booklet is designed to give you an introduction to life in

Qatar and answer some of the questions you may have

about your employment.

After working for 23 years in the UK I am well aware of how

daunting a career move abroad can be, especially when it

may involve relocating your family too. Rest assured, it is

easier than it may first appear and Qatar is an easy place

to settle into. The QIS leadership team knows that our staff

and our students are our most precious resource, so we are determined to look after

you and make the transition as easy as possible.

There are a few very important preparations to make before you leave your home

country that will certainly make your residency process easier. They mainly involve

the attestation of your various certificates and qualifications – a job that’s most

definitely best done from home (see section 2). It may all seem rather complicated,

expensive and bureaucratic at first, but it’s a necessary part of getting legal

residency in Qatar and ultimately it will be worth it. Please read the instructions

carefully and if you are in any doubt, just call or email the school for extra advice.

Please remember that, as your sponsor, QIS is essentially responsible for you while

you are a resident and so the interaction between you and the school is much more

than simply employer and staff. We want to look after you well, nurture your career

growth and ensure a mutually beneficial relationship.

As with any country, life in Qatar has its advantages and challenges. However, there

are some significant benefits for those working in the education sector here. I hope

you’re looking forward to finding out what those benefits are as much as we are

looking forward to you joining the QIS family soon.

Best wishes

Deane Baker

Principal

1. About Qatar

1.1 Fast facts about Qatar

1. Doha is the capital city – and indeed the country’s only substantial town. The

vast majority of the population lives in or near it.

2. Less than 20% of people living in Qatar are Qataris. The rest are foreign

workers from all over the world.

3. Summer (June to September) is extremely hot – up to 50°C – and often humid.

The rest of the year it’s pleasantly warm with little rain. January is the coldest

month, sometimes getting down to about 15°C.

4. Qatar is a conservative Islamic country and its culture and religion must be

respected at all times, both at work and in your personal life.

5. To live and work in Qatar you need a Residency Permit, which means bringing

a lot of documents with you and being patient! Read more about this in

section 2.

Skyline of Doha’s Al Dafna (also known as ‘West Bay’) business district

Here are some of the most useful websites to help you familiarise yourself with Qatar

before you arrive:

• When, Where and How in Doha (Facebook group):

facebook.com/groups/579287658767294

• Qatar Living (news and classifieds): qatarliving.com

• I Love Qatar (news and classifieds): iloveqatar.net

• Gulf Times (English-language newspaper): gulf-times.com

• The Peninsular (English-language newspaper): thepeninsulaqatar.com

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (government body): mofa.gov.qa/en

Qatar’s Al Zubara military fortress, built in the 1930s

1.2 Language

About 85% of the population of Qatar is made up of foreign (non-Qatari)

workers from all around the world. That means the city is highly multicultural and

multilingual.

The official language of Qatar is Arabic. However, almost every person in the

country speaks, reads and writes English to some extent.

Street signs, government information, utility suppliers, shops, businesses, restaurants,

taxis, legal documents, websites and so on almost always use both English and

Arabic.

1.3 Culture

Qatar is a small, traditional country experiencing rapid modernisation and huge

social change. It is also a conservative Islamic country and its religion and culture

must be respected at all times.

Qataris are proud of their culture and heritage – there is even an annual Qatar

National Day, which is a public holiday for everyone in the country. Traditional

customs like the hobby of falconry, shopping at the souq and wearing national dress

are still very much part of everyday life for many Qataris.

When you relocate to Qatar, you won’t fail notice the extensive construction and

infrastructure development as the country prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Doha’s Souq Waqif, a traditional market renovated in 2006

1.4 Cultural dos and don’ts

• Alcohol may only be consumed in licensed bars/restaurants, which are

mostly found in large, international hotels, and at home. It may not be

resold or consumed in public places.

• Alcohol and pork products may be bought for consumption at home

from a specialist retailer called Qatar Distribution Centre. To shop there,

you must buy a permit after you become a resident.

• Drink driving is not tolerated.

• Gambling, recreational drugs and pornography are strictly forbidden.

• Smoking is acceptable outdoors, including cigarettes and shisha.

• Taking photographs in public places can be sensitive – always ask

permission and avoid secure areas (eg. airports, military camps and

official buildings).

• Western clothing is acceptable in most public spaces. However, wearing

shorts, short dresses/skirts, sleeveless vests and see-through clothing is

often frowned upon – especially for women. Both genders must cover

their arms and legs in government buildings.

• Western swimwear is acceptable on the beach and at pools.

Doha’s Bin Zaid Cultural and Islamic Center, and Spiral Mosque

2. Your Residency Permit and important documents to bring

2.1 Residency Permits

All foreign workers require a Residency Permit (RP) to live and work in Qatar. One of

the first steps after your arrival is to convert your entry visa to an RP.

We will provide you with every assistance to get your RP. We arrange all your

appointments, transport you to and from them, and collate and submit your

paperwork for you. The process is as follows:

1. Submit all your correctly legalised documents (see sections 2.2 and 2.3) to

the school.

2. Attend a short medical exam at a government clinic. This includes a blood

test and a chest X-ray to screen for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and

Hepatitis C. If any of these diseases are found or suspected, then you may not

be granted residency (and would consequently have to return home).

3. Fingerprinting at a government centre.

4. Hand your passport to the school, so we can submit it to the Immigration

Department.

Your RP is conditional on all of these steps being correctly completed.

Important note: To get your RP, the school submits your passport to the Immigration

Department. It can take over a month before the permit is then issued and the

passport is returned to you. The whole process is outside our control so we cannot

guarantee when you will have your passport back. We strongly recommend you

don’t make any travel arrangements until you have your RP.

A sample Residency

Permit card

2.2 Legalising documents for your RP

Legalisation (also called attestation) is the process of authenticating a document

from one country so it can be presented as valid in a different country. Qatar has

very strict rules about how your documents must be legalised.

The process for Qatar involves three separate procedures in your home country:

1. Certification of your document(s) by a registered UK solicitor, or your home

country equivalent.

2. Addition of an apostille stamp by the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office

(gov.uk/get-document-legalised), or your home country equivalent.

3. Application of legalisation stamps by the Qatar Embassy in London

(see: london.embassy.qa/en/services), or your home country equivalent.

You can do this process yourself, although it can be time-consuming. Or you can

pay a company to do all or part of it for you. Our staff often use

www.argentum-llc.com or www.vitalconsular.com.

A lot of people find it easier to pay a company to attest their documents, such as

argentum-llc.com or vitalconsular.com

2.3 Documents that must be legalised

✓ Original bachelor’s degree certificate and its transcript

If you do not have a bachelor’s degree, please legalise your highest education

certificate instead (eg. A Levels or High School Leavers Certificate).

A certified copy of your certificate is not acceptable in place of your original. If you

do not have the original, you must request a replacement from your awarding body.

✓ Letter to support your degree certificate

The letter must include:

• The full title of the award

• That you studied full time and on campus and face-to-face (the Qatar

Government does not accept qualifications obtained through distance or

online learning)

• Duration of the course studied

• The actual dates of study (start date and end date)

• Location of study (the full address, including the country)

• Location of exams (the full address, including the country). If no exams were

taken the letter must confirm that no exams were required for your course

If your university cannot provide you with a transcript, the letter must state this and

explain why not.

✓ Personal documents for you and any dependents who will need residency

Depending on your circumstances, these can include (but are not limited to):

• Marriage certificate

• Change of name certificate

• Birth certificates of any children who will come to live with you

2.4 Other documents we’ll need

We will also request the following from you, but you do not need to get them

legalised.

Teaching qualification (PGCE or equivalent)

Please bring the original. It does not need to be attested (see section 2.3).

Letter of experience

• This should cover the last three years of your employment (not applicable to

NQTs or those with less than three years of experience). If you’ve had multiple

employers over the past three years, we’ll need one from each.

• It must state your full name, dates of employment, place of employment

(name and full address, including country) and job title.

• It must be on letterheaded paper from your previous employer(s) and include

their company stamp.

Police clearance from your home country and your last country of residence

Please note that this is not the same as the CRB check that is required for teaching in

the UK. See the following websites for details of how to get a police clearance form:

• acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx (England and Wales)

• disclosurescotland.co.uk (Scotland)

• nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/accessni-criminal-record-checks (Northern

Ireland)

• citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/moving_abroad/leaving_ireland/p

olice_certificate.html (Ireland)

References

We will seek two references, one of whom must be the headteacher or principal of

your most recent school. If you join us through a recruitment agency, they will supply

these for us.

If we cannot obtain satisfactory references, it may jeopardise your continued

employment.

Photocopy of passports

Yours and those of any dependents (eg. children and/or spouse) who will need a

Residency Permit.

3. Local bureaucracy and services

3.1 Banking and money

The conversion rate fluctuates with the market but it’s usually around 5 Qatari Riyal

(QAR) to 1 British Pound.

All our salaries are paid in QAR to your local bank account, which you will need to

open before or shortly after you arrive. Salaries are tax-free.

We bank with The Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) – a major national bank.

If you choose to bank with CBQ too, we can help you open an account before you

arrive in Qatar and you can use our own customer service rep while you’re here.

You can do most of your banking online with CBQ and sending money home online

is very easy with an IBAN number.

We like to make sure you have some cash available when you first arrive in Doha.

Therefore, we are happy to offer you an optional salary advance of QAR 2,000

salary upon arrival, which will be deducted from your first full month’s pay.

The Qatar Government requires that all your bank accounts – regardless of provider

– must be closed down and all debts paid off before you are allowed to leave the

country for good. Immigration may refuse to let you leave if any debts (including

traffic fines and bank loans) are outstanding.

Qatari Riyals, which come in denominations of

1, 5, 10, 50 and 500, and some Qatari Dirham coins

3.2 Driving licences

International driving licences are valid in Qatar for six months. Licences from your

home country are valid for seven days after your arrival in the country. After seven

days, you will need to convert your home country licence to a temporary or

permanent Qatari licence.

If you hold a driving licence from the UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia or most EU

countries, you can convert it without taking a driving test. Those from other countries

may have to take a full driving course and test.

To find out the requirements for licence holders from your country, contact the

Traffic Department of the Ministry of Interior:

• Address: Madinat Khalifa (North), Khalifa Street, Near Al Gharrafa Flyover

• Tel: +974 2344722

• Email: traffic@moi.gov.qa

• portal.moi.gov.qa/wps/portal/MOIInternet/departmentcommittees/licensingaff

airs

3.3 Electricity and water

The electricity system has the same voltage and type of plugs and sockets as the UK.

Supply is very reliable.

The tap water supplied to homes is certified by the government as safe to consume.

However, the colour, flavour and mineral content is not to everybody’s taste – and

varies greatly depending where in the city you live. You will find some Doha residents

happy to drink water straight out the tap, and some who won’t even cook with it!

Bottled water is affordable and widely available from a variety of suppliers, many of

whom will deliver it to your doorstep for free.

3.4 Emergency services

Dial 999 for fire, ambulance and police.

Most buildings have a blue plate outside indicating the address you must give to

emergency services. Ask for yours from our facilities team if you can’t find it at your

accommodation.

3.5 Employment law

In Qatar, this has some notable differences to that of the UK and other parts of the

world. Some of these relate to your contract and your sponsorship.

Importantly, you cannot legally change employers within Qatar during your

contracted period without the permission and agreement of all parties involved

(called a ‘No Objection Certificate’). This means moving from one school to another

during a contract is impossible. At the end of a contract you are usually required to

leave the country before you can return and work for a different employer.

In the event of resignation before contract expiry, QIS does not bear the cost of the

employee’s travel back home. Gratuity is not paid if the employee resigns within

their contracted period. Other conditions may apply, in accordance with Qatari

law. In the unlikely event that an employee resigns within their initial probation

period, we reserve the right to seek reimbursement of their initial flight to Doha and

any recruitment costs.

3.6 Exit Permits

Until October 2018, every sponsored foreign worker in Qatar needed an Exit Permit

from their employer each time they wanted to leave the country. However, since

that date Exit Permits have not been required by most workers in Qatar.

Companies may still elect up to 5% of their core staff to remain under the old Exit

Permit system. This is usually those with access to money and/or confidential

information.

QIS does not retain teaching staff – our teachers don’t need Exit Permits!

3.7 Healthcare

When you first come to Qatar, you must have adequate travel insurance cover for

medical emergencies and any routine care you will need. You must check your

provider covers you during the process of relocation abroad.

Once you are resident in Qatar, you can access some of the best healthcare in the

world through the country’s national, not-for-profit provider, Hamad Medical

Corporation. To do this you must register for a Hamad Health Card, costing QAR 100.

After that the fees for consultation and treatment are very low and the quality of

care you get is fantastic.

The school also provides good private medical insurance to all staff. This gives you

access to a local network of clinics where you can walk in and see a specialist

doctor almost immediately. It covers a variety of dental work, medical treatments

and operations – plus private medical cover in your home country.

We will give you full details of your private health insurance when you start at QIS.

3.8 Home contents and travel insurance

Just like with landlords in your home country, your landlord in Qatar (including QIS, if

you live in staff accommodation) does not provide home contents insurance. It is

important you arrange your preferred level of cover with a provider of your choice.

If you hold travel insurance with a provider in your home country, you may find your

policy is invalid once you become resident in Qatar. We strongly recommend you

check with your insurer and arrange new insurance that covers you from your ‘new

home country’.

Some reputable insurance providers in Qatar currently include most major national

banks, AXA (qa.axa-gulf.com) and QIC (qic-insured.com). Our staff are entitled to a

25% discount on all insurance with QIC, as it is the parent company of our medical

insurers.

3.9 Phone, internet and TV packages

QIS staff accommodation comes with a TV and standard channels, plus WiFi.

Once you have your Residency Permit (RP), you can sign up for additional TV

channels and enhanced internet services with a provider of your choice if you wish.

You can buy pay-as-you-go mobile phone SIM cards from many shops and

supermarkets before you have your RP, then sign up for post-paid packages after

you have your RP. Make sure your mobile phone is unlocked before you arrive, so

you can use a local SIM card.

3.10 Post

Unlike at home, post is not delivered to the door but to private PO boxes at the local

post office, which you can set up if you wish. All QIS staff are welcome to use our

address for private correspondence: Qatar International School, United Nations

Street, PO Box 5697, Doha, Qatar. We collect our post a couple of times a week

(more at high frequency periods) and distribute it to you free of charge!

Private couriers like DHL and FedEx are widely used throughout Qatar and quite

efficient.

4. QIS contact details

Address:

Qatar International School,

United Nations Street,

PO Box 5697,

Doha, Qatar.

You are welcome to give this address out for your personal correspondence.

• Email: info@qis.org

• Phone: (+974) 44831096

• Fax: (+974) 44833456

The school office is open from 6.30am to 1.45pm every week day (Sunday to

Thursday) and closed at weekends (Friday and Saturday).

Remember the time difference: Qatar is + 3 hours GMT / + 2 hours BST.