Study in Qatar

About Qatar

• Geography-The peninsula of Qatar is located to the east of Arabia. The Persian Gulf borders this peninsula. That is why this Gulf has a huge influence on the architecture and culture of Qatar. Qatar is a very rocky and arid country. The climate is too hot. The highest point of Qatar is Qurayn Abu al Bawl, which peaks at 338 ft.
• Mythology-In ancient times; men took long journeys and worked outside their homes for longer times. The womenor the wives of those men used to stay at homes all this while.The women of the houses restricted them to household chores. There was no obligation of the men to come back to their women at any point of time. There are tales about Bu Draeyah, a sea monster. This is a very famous folktale. It is about a very fierce looking sea monster that dwells deep under the sea. It kills those sailors who sees Bu Draeyah in the eye. It gives rise to all kinds of sea sickness in a sailor.
• History-WadiDebayan of Qatar is the oldest of the human settlements in this country, as found by the historians. The British people tried to secure the flow of the ships of their company (East India Company) by capturing the administration of the Persian Gulf area. Doha, the current capital of Qatar was just a town at that time. Doha went through a massive demolition during the eighteenth century. The British rulers signed a treaty regarding the passage of their vessels through the Persian Gulf. But they found the people of Doha robbing their ships. They bombarded the entire city as a punishment to their piracy. The city also survived the brutal war between Qatar and Bahrain. After these two massacres and much more Doha became the capital of Qatar. It was declared to be the capital of Qatarin the year 1971. It became the centre of culture, creativity and education.
• Politics-It is the economic infrastructure of Doha and few other important cities that has helped Qatar in rising from a struggling state, to being one of the richest countries in the world. But slowly, Qatar has seen few heavy dipping points. Slowly and steadily, this country was accused of having strong connections with Iran. The Middle East country Saudi Arabia has cut its ties with Qatar after alleging the latter of patronization to terrorist activities. This has led to a political and economic crisis in the country. But with this financial year starting, situations have improved. Qatar got the privilege to host the football world cup of 2022. This is a big honour. Economists and market experts are predicting an upswing in the Qatar economy post this success.

  Quick Facts

  • The currency of Qatar is the Qatari Riyal.
  • The world's third largest oil reserve belongs to Qatar.
  • It is from these reserves of natural gas and petroleum, the GDP of this country is more than 1,00,000 US dollars. That is why Qatar is a highly developed country. Although the current economic fiasco has decreased the market value of this country a little bit.
  • Qatar Airways received the best carrier annual World Airline award. This has again proved that airlines is a value for money. The food and flight quality are really good.
  • The country is very much polluted. The carbon emission in Qatar is more than the highest polluted cities of India. This pollution further increases the level of global warming in Qatar. As a result, the pollution content in the air of Qatar is very high. The air is filled with vapours of heavy metals, carbon, etc.
  • The biggest irony is that the country of Qatar is ranked as one of the peaceful countries by Global Peace Index. This country is blacklisted by other Middle East countries for alleged terrorist activities.
  • Another irony with respect to Qatar is that it is less prone to natural calamities. Even then the international flights of Qatar are getting cancelled, as a result of the embargo.
  • The three of the popular and busy airports are Doha international airport, Hamad international airport and Al Khor airport. The Doha international airport is mostly availed by travellers as a temporary stop in between the connecting flights.
  • The people of Qatar have a high penchant for sports. February 13th is considered to be the National Sports Day in Qatar. This is a national holiday in Qatar. Football is the most vividly played sports in this country. Therefore, Qatar won the bid to host football world cup in 2022. Other than football, the people of this country love to watch different kinds of races like camel racing and horse racing. Falconry and basketball come next in popularity.
  • The people here love to drink a cup of strong tea with a few cardamom seeds in it, right after their lunch. This rejuvenates their mind and body.

  Admission Process in Qatar

  • You need to select the subject in which you are seeking your admission. Choose a subject and a degree that is rarely found in the universities of your state.
  • You must submit the photocopies of the mark sheets and certificates of class 10,12, graduation/ master's degree. This means if you are applying for a diploma course, then most of the times you will only require the photocopies of the documents of class 10 and 12. If you are applying for graduation, then also the photocopies of the mark sheets and certificates of class 10 and 12 will suffice. For the postgraduate course, you require the mark sheet of graduation. You can think of studying a postgraduate diploma in Qatar. In that case also, you would have to submit all your academic documents until graduation. In all of these cases, you may submit the photocopy of the certificate of any diploma course that you have completed in India.
  • You have to submit a photocopy of your birth certificate.
  • You require a few passport size photographs.Again, the size of the photographs required by the university may vary between a passport and a stamp size. Generally, the size of the photographs is required to be submitted in centimeters and on a white background. Follow the general instructions given by the University for the size of the photographs.
  • In some universities, a student must clear a foundation program or something equivalent to it. After you sit for that examination, you will get a score. The university will scrutinize that score and decide whether you are eligible to study that course.
  • Last but not the least, you need to pay an admission form fee. This fee may vary between 200-600 Qatar Riyals.

  Student Visa Application Process

  When you are applying for a course under Qatar University, then you must have a student visa ready with you before applying. If you have a Qatar residence permit, then you can apply for a course under Qatar University, before your student visa is approved. The student visa is not required for those international students who have obtained a scholarship. This is a student scholarship that would be given by the same university, where you are applying for the undergraduate or postgraduate course. The scholarship will be given on the same course in which you applied. If you are applying for a tourist visa, then it takes around 2 weeks for the issuance of visa. But this is not the case for a student visa. In this case a lot of documents have to be verified. If you are being sponsored by an organization, then the documents of sponsorship has to be evaluated separately. All these will take around a month. You can expect your student visa in between 1-2 months. This time is to be calculated after the completion of the visa interview. You have to apply to a university of Qatar, keeping this time gap in mind.

  Lifestyle

  The government of Qatar gives all the necessary support to the educational organizations of Qatar. Having said this, the main difficulty is the political unrest in this country. There is a huge impact of terrorism on the education and social system as a whole. One of the students currently residing in Qatar, mentioned that the students are currently in a state of uneasiness. Due to the current embargo and ban on communication with countries like Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, etc., students of these Middle East countries fear to fly back to their home from Qatar after their initial semesters. Their fear is that, since all kinds of communications with Qatar are cut off by these countries, they will not be let in Qatar for studying their subsequent semesters. The students of India might also face an impact of this embargo. There are as many as 7,00,000 Indians are staying and working in Qatar. Due to the political unrest some of them have come back to India and are trying to settle in India. My suggestion would be that if you are a student of higher secondary course in India and you wish to study in Qatar, then try to go to Qatar to study your master's degree. By that time this condition will improve. The impact of this embargo on international flights will highly decrease. So, you can expect a better academic scenario in Qatar within two years.
  Qatar is an extremely religious country. You can expect mosques and prayer rooms in most parts of the country. Doha, the capital of Qatar, is an extremely religious city. Colleges and universities remain open for a lesser amount of time during Ramadan. In fact, even if you are not a Muslim student, you must keep fast during the Ramadan period. You won't find food in any house or restaurant or canteen during the daytime of the Ramadan period. Eating in public at that time is considered to be a punishable offence. So, you have to maintain this rule during the Ramadan period, or otherwise you will hurt the sentiments of the countrymen of Qatar. The Bedouin culture and the Persian Gulf culture influence the culture of Qatar. The architecture and paintings of Qatar have a strong Islamic influence. Although women could not enter these two fields of creativity. Women, however could be a part of the literature of Qatar after 1970. This time was called as literature movement in Qatar.

  Cost of Living for Students

  AccommodationWhen you enter Qatar, you will have to think of accommodation first. The rent of flats can start from 10,000 Indian rupees in Qatar. If you have a stable financial background, then you can take up such rented flats. It can be as costly as Rs.60,000 per month. This is applicable for people from India who work in Qatar on a contractual basis. Being a student you will not be able to afford such rents. You can take the help of your relatives who have settled in Qatar. You can stay in their houses for some months and save some money. You can also think of staying in the university, where you have got the opportunity to study. This is applicable for students who have got a scholarship from that university. For obtaining a scholarship, your academic records must be really impressive. Some universities conduct short scholarship examinations to shortlist the students, eligible for a scholarship. This scholarship is so helpful, that once you obtain such a scholarship in Qatar University, you may not apply for a student visa. If you don't have a scholarship, then you will not be allowed to stay in the university campus. You can also think of staying in cheap hostels in the prime cities of Qatar. The hostels are much cheaper than the flats and you get Wi-Fi, laundry, library and many other facilities. Some hostels have the facility of television in a common living room. You can book a room in such hostels on the official website of hotelworld.
  FoodIn the initial days, when your accommodation is not fixed, you have to think of eating out in restaurants. In fact, in order to get accustomed to the people, food, etc. of this country, it is better to eat in a restaurant for a month. Use the student canteen for lunch purpose. It will take some time for you to understand the market prices and the grocery bills. You have to check more than one market and see for yourself how much money you can save on grocery items based on the markets. So that would take time. You will also be able to understand the society around you. Now, if you consume your dinner every day from a restaurant, then the monthly cost may range between 600-1000 Qatar Riyals. If you consume both breakfast and dinner from a restaurant for a month, then the expenditure will rise to 1200-1400 Qatar Riyals. The cost will vary depending on the type of the restaurant. That means a five star restaurant will charge much more than a one star restaurant. After a month, start buying groceries from the market and cook at home. This is for those who are staying at their relative's house or in a rented flat. In fact the grocery items of Qatar are quite cheaper than that in India. You can get a good brand of rice, eggs, pulses, bread, etc. in the local markets of Qatar. The costs are almost same as the standard prices in an Indian market. Many times you will find the cost to be even half of that of the Indian price. But to get the grocery items in such cheap prices, you have to visit every market near your apartment or hostel for some time. After that you will be able to master the art of buying a substantial amount of groceries in cheap prices.
  
  TransportationBus and taxis are the main transport systems available in Qatar. Petrol is very cheap in Qatar. This is because it is one of the chief exporters of petrol to other developing countries. The bus fare is very cheap. In the city of Doha, the lowest bus fare is 5 Qatar Riyals. The train fare is almost same as that of the bus fare. The taxi fare is around 2.50 Qatar Riyals per km. The base fare of the taxis is Rs.10. If you are staying in Doha and studying in a university nearby, then you can avail the city metro. It connects the city with the suburb areas.

  Documents for University Admissions in Qatar

  1. First of all,you need to fill out the visa application page and submit it online. When you submit it, you will get a confirmation of the application. Print that confirmation page and bring it during the visa interview. The other documents required during the visa application or interview are as follows:
  2. You have to bring the original passport and submit a photocopy of the passport at the visa office. The remaining validity of the passport must be of more than one year.
  3. If you are a working candidate and your education is sponsored by an Indian or Qatar company, then you require to submit an affidavit of your sponsor.Along with this, you must submit the identity card of your sponsor. If the sponsor belongs to an Indian company, adhar cards will suffice.
  4. If the financial sponsor lives in Qatar and the student is applying in Qatar University, then the student must submit a guarantee of 20,000 Qatar Riyals to Qatar University. If the sponsor is from outside the country, then the student needs to provide the bank statement of the past six months to the university.
  5. You need to provide a medical fitness certificate at the time of visa application. You have to do the blood tests for some regular diseases like blood sugar, thyroid, etc. You can do it in a clinic near your home or in any government hospital. You can submit the test report to a doctor near your house and obtain a fit certificate from there.
  
  
  6. You require a document signed by the police station near your house that you do not have any past or pending criminal record. The document should say that you have not been convicted in the past.
  You have to submit twoor three very recent passport size photographs of yours.Please go through the visa application form carefully for the required size of the photograph. The standard size of the photographs is35 mm x 45 mm. The preferred background of the images is white or off white. Your face should not be covered by a hat or sunglasses, etc. A head gear is only allowed in the photograph, if it is a religious compulsion.
  7. You also require a character certificate. It is better that the principal of your school or the director of your college signs the character certificate. They should write a few lines in your favor. They should state how brilliant you were as a student, how focused you are in your work, etc.
  8. If you have any relative working in Qatar, then that will be beneficial for you at the time of the visa application. You must give the name, address, contact number, company name and the designation of your relative. The university of Qatar might call your relative for a cross verification. After scrutinizing all these documents, the visa office will decide whether to provide you with the visa or notify you to submit some other documents.

Qatar is a country in the Middle East. Therefore, this country has a very hot climate and a subtropical climate. If you are an Indian national, then you will not face a huge difficulty in thriving in this situation. States like Rajasthan, Chennai, West Bengal, etc., experience a very hot and humid climate. So if you belong to such states, you are already immune to hot climate. The main difference is that here in India, we experience a winter season. Qatar doesn't experience it much. The temperatures are soaring all through the year. That is why you have to cover your hands and face while travelling in this country during the daytime. This situation is applicable all through the year.You will find huge sand dunes in many regions of this country. Therefore, this country experiences a huge impact of the sandstorms. Doctors recommend cotton and linen dress to the students of Qatar. Due to such a hot climate, doctors recommend high consumption fruit juices and packaged drinking water all through the day. The temperature of the country is hotter during the month of September. It could rise to as high as 50 degrees Celsius. It is recommended that students come to Qatar during the beginning of the spring season.