INFO: How to Apply for A Qatar Smart ID Card (E-Gate Card) and Its Renewal

The e-Gate system (Smart ID) allows air passengers and officials to enter and exit the country with ease. Holders of the e-Gate Card may bypass the immigration formalities at the Doha International Airport by punching their cards at the gate and pressing their index fingers on an electronic scanner.

Application Process

Follow these steps to apply:

• Visit the office for e-Gate Cards.
• Show your ID or GCC passport.
• Pay appropriate fees.

                        One year: QR200

                        Two years: QR250

                        Three years: QR300

 

Go to the immigration department in Madinat Khalifa with your ID card (Gate 1 or 2 depending on your visa type).

Go to the immigration department in Madinat Khalifa with your ID card (Gate 1 or 2 depending on your visa type).

Have your photo taken at a booth, and fingerprint both your hands. (Immigration staff will assist you).

Get in line to get a token number and wait for it to be called.

When you're called, go to the counter. Tell them you did your fingerprinting on the system and request for the Smart ID for one or two or three years. You can pay for the e-Gate card/Smart ID for up to 3 years.

 

Immigration will then swap your Qatari ID for a chipped ID card. With this e-Card (Smart ID) you should be able to skip immigration and passport control and use the e-Gate, as long as you have your exit permit.

Renewal Process

1) You may ask an electronic form from your company with your name in arabic. Bring it with your ID card, old E-Gate card, and a credit card or any saving account ATM card with certain amount of course so that you could pay the fee.

2) Go to the Immigration Building just off of the Shammal Road near Landmark Mall (heading towards the airport from Landmark). When you go through security (tell them you're here for e-gate and they should let you by) and enter the “courtyard” of the Immigration Building go to entrance number 2 on your left, this will open into a big room with lots of seats (over a hundred), to your left will be civil servants in booths with flashing numbers over them to indicate the next ticket number. Don't go to them or look for a ticket number, just go straight across the room, turn right at the snack kiosk, and go to what kind of looks like some large booths on the left wall. This is where you have your photo and fingerprint taken for E-Gate.

[Warning: a commentator said that ladies might be turned away if wearing dresses or Capri pants so ladies you may want to consider full-length pants.]

3) Two ladies were working the E-Gate “booths”. One of them will take your ID card and the piece of paper, take you to a booth, and then:

• take your picture
• scan your fingerprint
• have you write your signature on a special electronic pad

she will then sign the paper and give it back you with your ID card.

4) From there go back to the entrance. You will see a big desk with two or three civil attendants behind it (and probably a big crowd of people around them). This is where you get your ticket number. Go up to them and say you are here for E-gate. They will give you a number and then you sit down and wait for your number to be called.

5) When it is getting close to your number being called try to move to a place so that you can quickly get to the booth. It's a big room and the guys at the desks seem to give about 20 seconds before they move on to the next number. When it is your turn give the person the document, ID card, and credit/ATM card. They will charge the fee for the E-Gate card to your credit card and they will keep both the piece of paper and your ID card. That is because they have a new system where they have integrated E-Gate with your ID card so they will issue you a brand-new ID card that has E-Gate built in.

6) They will then tell you to sit down and wait until they call you to collect your new card. They might tell you to come back to the booth after few minutes. Generally the wait is anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes.

7) Now you have to activate your E-Gate card (again no one will be so eager to tell you anything about activating the card so that once you’re in the airport, its already activated and ready for scanning). To activate, head back to the scanning booths near the snack kiosk. Behind it are what looks like two ATM machines. You use these to activate your card. Usually there's some attendant who stands there where you could ask for help, typing in you ID numbers etc.

 

Source: QatarBloggers / Qatarday