New rule to enter Qatar: Ease vaccination, demand KC 

• Rojgar Manch
• अशोज २१, २०७८
• 0

KATHMANDU: A large number of Nepalese seeking employment at Qatar will be affected after the government imposed a new rule of mandatory Covid-19 vaccination to enter the country.

To be effective from October 6, Qatar has introduced an updated travel and return policy making the Covid-19 vaccination mandatory to people entering the country besides other additional provisions.

According to Nepali Embassy in Qatar, the government has revised the rule to enter the people from South Asia including Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.

“Non-residents of Qatar must register via the pre-registration platform on www.ehteraz.gov.qa website and upload all relevant documents such as PCR test result, vaccine certificate and other relevant documents at least three days before arrival,” states the updated travel and return policy. “Although pre-registration is optional for citizens and residents of Qatar, the Ministry of Public Health recommends that all individuals entering Qatar pre-register to ensure the best experience upon arrival in Qatar.”

Though the Qatar government has made vaccination mandatory many workers going to Qatar have not got vaccinated yet therefore the foreign employment agencies have expressed concerns that the employment of those workers could be affected.

Chairman of Lalitpur Foreign Employment Society and chairman of Paradise International Pvt Ltd Nabaraj KC said if the government failed to priorities vaccination to the workers seeking foreign jobs, the employment of Qatar could be in crisis.

“At least 10,000 workers who have received visas from different recruitment agencies of Qatar are not vaccinated yet,” KC said. “Covid-19 vaccines are mandatory now but the Nepal government has not provided vaccines to them yet. We don’t want to lose such a lucrative destination for foreign employment.”

As per the updated provision, to enter Qatar one must have a PCR negative report of 72 hours from authorized health institutions.
Businessman KC has urged the Nepalese embassy and the Nepalese government to take initiative to enter Qatar as per the old rules if the vaccination cannot be completed for the workers who have already arrived with visas.

KC, who is known as an entrepreneur who sends workers for foreign employment, says that Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) should also take initiative to make Qatar employment easier.

Senior businessman KC has also urged the Government of Nepal to make arrangements for easy vaccination in government and private hospitals for those going for foreign employment.

The destination country has approved Pfizer, SinoVac, Moderna, Astrazeneca and Sputnik V and Johnson and Johnson vaccines.
Except Johnson and Johnson, people entering the country must have all the doses of all other vaccines and they can only travel after 14 days of having the second dose.

The Qatar government has stated that even if the person has both the doses of the vaccine they must go through a two-day long hotel quarantine.

The Nepali Embassy has clarified that people administering vaccines which were not approved by the government won’t be allowed to enter Qatar.

Therefore, Nepali foreign employment agencies have demanded the government to establish separate vaccination centers for the workers seeking foreign employment.

But the attention of the stakeholders have been drawn as the vaccines were not sufficient despite the government having bought such vaccines from different countries.

As one of the major destinations for foreign employment thousands of Nepali workers demand Qatar.
According to foreign employment agencies Nepal must not lose Qatar as many countries have refused to take Nepali workers due to the pandemic.