Qatar suspended on Wednesday issuing of visit visas to relatives and friends of residents in view of the forthcoming WTO ministerial conference in Doha, reported the Gulf Times newspaper.
The conference, expected to be attended by some 4,500 delegates from nearly 150 countries, is scheduled to be held from November 9 to 13.
All the country’s social and security resources are expected to be geared towards the successful holding of the conference, to be held for the first time in the Middle East, said the paper.
An immigration official said that no new visit visas would be issued until after the conference.
However, those who have already obtained visas could visit the country before the conference.
The official revealed that those who are already in the country would not be given an extension beyond the end of October.
All such visitors would be required to leave the country by the end of next month, he said.
However, those who have acquired an extension, which runs beyond October, could stay on until the expiry of their visas.
“That means, those who have made the payment for the extension will not lose their money,” he explained.
The new restrictions, to be in place until the mid-November, will not apply to family visit visas, which are usually given for a year at a time, and business visas.
According to the paper, it wasn’t clear what might happen if the conference gets postponed, the possibility of which cannot be ruled out in the light of the impending military action against Afghanistan.
The United States has already hinted that such action could be long drawn out – Albawaba.com
