DOHA: With more services of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) now available online, the number of licensed private centres offering these services to companies and individuals against a fee is on the rise.
Since 2011, the ministry has issued licences to 96 such firms with a view to speed up online transactions for companies and institutions that are interested in availing of their services, the ministry said yesterday.
A wide range of ministry services have been offered by these centres mostly to corporate clients, who opt for their service to avoid the hassles of physically visiting a MoI services centre or going through the procedures of online transactions.
Such centres also help reduce the rush at the ministry’s services centres since the work of many company representatives can be done by a few employees. Another advantage is that the customers can avail of their services even after the ministry working hours since the services are available online.
These firms have now tied up with Qatar Post to get the documents like ID cards directly delivered to them after completion of the online transactions.
Their services include issuance of visa for company employees, issuance, renewal and cancellation of residence permits, exit permits for company employees, issuance of new ID for companies and renewal of company registration number.
They also provide the services related to the Traffic Department including vehicle registration, renewal and transfer of road permit, taking vehicles for technical check up, issuance and renewal or driving licence and registration in driving schools.
They facilitate fingerprinting for company employees and their families and help companies handle transactions related to the Civil Defence Department.
Besides a ministry licence, the firms require a legal authorisation by customers for each service provided to them, a statement posted on the ministry website yesterday quoted Captain Abdulla Al Mohannadi, Technical Officer, General Directorate of Borders, Passports and Expatriate Affairs, as saying.
The licensed companies provide services as per specific conditions, including full compliance with the laws. regulations and relevant decisions and instructions issued by the directorate or other entities concerned.
“These companies are fully responsible and accountable for the outcomes of their services and for any possible misuse of the system by their officials or staff against the interests of the clients,” said Al Mohannadi.
They are not allowed to process any transaction for others without a legal or official authorization from the person concerned. The client is required to authorize the company to process the application on his behalf.
The firms must display their licence in a visible way in their premises. The ministry has set a number of conditions and technical and administrative requirements for these companies, added Al Mohannadi.
A company must have at least three computers, telephone line, fax, Internet connection and the special software to access the online services of the ministry. They must have an archive to save all transactions and documents and must provide enough space for receiving the customers.
The company must subscribe to the e-government system (Hukoomi) and use the postal services for delivering the documents.
Al Mohannadi said the directorate is coordinating with Qatar Postal Corporation for delivery of Qatari IDs for customers for a fee.
The Peninsula
