Colombo, Sri Lanka                                                                                                                                                                         11 Oct 2018                                                                                                                                                                                         (MOI Qatar)

First Qatar Visa Center is inaugurated in Colombo, Sri Lanka under the mandate of the Ministry of Interior, State of Qatar facilitating recruiting agencies and the job applicants to complete their complete legal requirements  including bio-metrics data, sign work contracts and undergo medical test at the Qatar Visa Center.before leaving for Qatar joining their respective companies.

Present on the occasion were Dr. Rashid bin Shafea Al-Marri, Ambassador of State of Qatar in Colombo, Maj.  Abdullah Khalifa Al Mohannadi, Director of Department of Visa Support Services,  Ministry of Interior, State of Qatar.

Beginning October 12th, 2018, work visa applicants to the State of Qatar will be required to enroll their biometrics data, sign work contracts and undergo medical test at the Qatar Visa Center. The move to get work visa applicants to complete the most essential part of their visa process in the country of origin is aimed at guaranteeing employees their rights in a manner consistent with the best international standards.

As part of the visa application process, work visa applicants will be required to get a visa reference number from the Ministry of Interior, book an appointment online, and visit the Qatar Visa Center fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled time. At the reception, the identity of the visa applicant will be verified, the list of required documents checked, and a token issued. Once the token is called, visa applicants will be able to digitally sign their work contract, enroll bio-metric data and undergo the required medical tests. Upon completion of the process at the visa center, visa applicants will be able to track the status of their application online or through their employer in the State of Qatar.

The center operates between 08:30 am to 04:30 pm from Monday to Friday.

Dr. Rashid Bin Shafea Al Marri said: “In the framework of the ongoing cooperation between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Sri Lanka, in order to achieve the common interest and strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries, I'm pleased and honored to attend the inauguration of the Qatar Visa Center in the Republic of Sri Lanka. This initiative, which is the first of its kind, aims at facilitating the work procedures for Sri Lankan expatriates migrating to the State of Qatar, and also to preserve and protect their rights through the application of best practices and international standards"

"As part of Qatar's keenness to facilitate the work process and protect the rights of expatriates and, Qatar Visa Centers will be opened in a number of countries, starting with the Republic of Sri Lanka," said Maj. Abdullah Khalifa Al Mohannadi, Director of Visa Support Services Dept at the Ministry of the Interior, Doha , Qatar.

"Medical examinations, bio-metric data enrollment and the signing process of employment contracts for expatriates migrating to the State of Qatar will be done through the Qatar Visa Centers in the expatriate country of origin. This reflects the extent of Qatar's endeavors to ensure the protection and safety of expatriates under simplified and effective recruitment process" He added.

Suhail Shaikh, Business Head for Bio-met Services said, “We are honored to launch the first Qatar Visa Center for the people of Sri Lanka on behalf of Ministry of Interior, State of Qatar. We take great pride in being able to provide transparent, standardized and streamlined visa services for the Sri Lankan work visa applicants through a simple process managed by our capable colleagues.

Vishvajeet Kumar, Head of Operations Stemz Healthcare stated “We would like to thank MOI & Medical Commission for giving us the opportunity to serve applicants traveling to Qatar for work. We aim to provide word class facilities with latest technology offering customer service level that matches international standard simultaneously ensuring stringent medical standards are being adhered to as required by Qatar Government.”

The Center's medical test service is provided by Stemz Healthcare, a visa-related medical services company. Some of the key medical tests to be conducted at the center include blood tests, x-ray, visual assessments, and physical examinations. The operations are backed by a team of highly qualified healthcare professionals with internal systems and processes based on the latest medical standards and best practices.

The Qatar Visa Center is operated by Biomet Visa Services Lanka (Private) ltd., a subsidiary of Biomet Services Pte. Headquartered in Singapore, Biomet Services is a visa processing and biometric enrollment solutions company providing administrative outsourcing services to client governments. Under the agreement with Ministry of Interior, State of Qatar, the company is mandated to open Qatar Visa Centers additionally in Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan & Tunisia.

Located conveniently on the Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte trunk route, at No. 435/3, Sentra Super City, Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte, the visa center is equipped with state-of-the-art bio-metric enrollment & medical test facility. The visa center is designed in line with international standards ensuring greater transparency, tractability and increased security for the visa applicants.

Qatar Visa Center maintains robust multi-lingual information services for the benefit of visa applicants across multiple touch points. Information on appointment scheduling, requirements and steps at the visa center can be found in English, Arabic, Sinhala and Tamil through a dedicated website (http://www.qatarvisacenter.com), call center helpline (+94 117942999), email (info.cmb@qatarvisacenter.com) and walk-in at the reception.

Details of Qatar Visa Center

Qatar Visa Center, 435/3, Sentra Super City, Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte MW Sri Lanka.

Business Hours:       0830 HRS - 1630 HRS from Monday  to Friday,  Helpline:  +94 117942999

Email: info.cmb@qatarvisacenter.com, Website:        www.qatarvisacenter.com