The existing practice is only companies with authorised signatories can apply for the permits online. Colonel Saleh Khamis Ghanim Al Kubaisi, Director of the Information Systems Department at the Ministry of Interior, told reporters yesterday: “However, it depends on the company if it will retain employees’ passports or not.”
Being able to get exit permits for themselves will be a boon to residents, who often are given a runaround by companies before finally getting the vital travel document pior to leaving the country.
The QR25m smart ID card project was started in October last year. Till date, around 8,000 nationals have been issued the card. “Our plan is that by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, residents will be issued the smart cards,” said Al Kubaisi.
In keeping with the country's paradigm shift towards e-governance, the new ID card not only serves as identification, but can be used at the e-gates at Doha International Airport and will also allow the holder to enter into transactions with the government online. “Individuals can renew resident permits, among other services,” he said.
There is a possibility of incorporating the health card into the smart system at a future date.
Al Kubaisi said that in May this year, the first of the Qatari biometric passports will be issued. “It is a project in progress. We will not issue them all at one go, but once a citizen's passport expires, it will be replaced with a biometric one,” said Al Kubaisi.
Two fingerprints will have to be given as well as an image of the iris for the new smart card. Al Kubaisi said image retention centres will be set up at places like shopping malls where details will be collected before being fed into the Ministry database. It will take around an hour for a new ID card to be issued once all processes are complete.
Biometric capturing is a key component of the Qatar National Identification System where the Ministry is building the National Biometric Repository which will contain biometric details of all citizens and residents.
There is a fee of QR250 for the digital signature feature which allows for transactions with the government for a period of five years. Similarly, there is a QR150 per year fee for the e-gate feature.
Al Kubaisi said: “Many people who are not frequent travellers, for example, may not want the e-gate feature. The same applies to those who do not deal much with the government online. One can have a smart card without these features.” The cost of the new ID card will be around QR100 and anyone aged 16 and above is eligible for one.
Al Kubaisi' department is working on certain other projects. These include archiving and building a common system for all police stations in the country. “We do have a shortage of engineers. Like all countries, Qatar also is facing a shortage of computer professionals. But we have around 60 students who are studying in computer-related fields who will come back and help us. This is also a part of our ‘Qatarisation' process," he said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Rabin Gupta
Quelle/Source: The Peninsula On-line, 14.02.2008
