Medical Certificate Attestation in Qatar
From employment to immigration, the reasons for Medical Certificate Attestation in Qatar may differ. Regardless of the purpose, attestation of medical certificates is an essential process.
Medical certificates are key documents that provide valuable information and insights regarding your health condition. These are issued by certified doctors and usually encompass details related to medical examination, treatment, expected time of recovery, and associated restrictions or arrangements. A health certificate usually includes the name, date of birth and address of the employee and the verifying physician.
This can be used to prove the medical fitness of an employee. It can also act as a sick report which helps in claiming health benefits and financial assistance This certificate is essential to get extended sick leaves.
Medical Certificate Attestation
To verify the authenticity of the medical certificate and allow the process to go smoothly, the certificate must go through attestation. Medical certificate attestation ensures the genuineness of the certificate by affixing seal and signature by concerned authorities to enable it to be used in Qatar for official purposes.
Importance of Medical Certificate Attestation in Qatar
Medical certificate attestation has great significance and can be used for various purposes. The main objectives of medical certificate attestation in Qatar include:
- To get extended leave and paid leave
- To support your absence from the office
- To claim health benefits from the company
- To apply for a visa
- To claim medical insurance
Documents Needed for Medical Certificate Attestation in Qatar
The Certificate Attestation process includes multiple steps and in each step, the certificates are verified by certain authorities. For the attestation procedure, certain documents are to be submitted. These documents include:
- Original Medical Certificate.
- Copy of Passport
- Authorization letter (Applicable in specific cases only)
Authorities may also demand your photos and contact details.
Process of Medical Certificate Attestation in Qatar
Medical Certificate attestation in Qatar requires regional, national and international levels of attestation. The initial level attestation is performed by notaries which is further followed by state level attestation, which again proceeded by MEA and Embassy attestation and concludes with MOFA attestation.
The preliminary step in the attestation process is performed by local notaries. Notaries are legal authorities entitled to perform the verification of documents. Notaries verify the identity of the signers, ensure the documents’ authenticity and attest to it with stamps and signatures.
This is the second step of the attestation procedure. Here the authentication is carried out at the state level by the State Home Department (SHD), Human Resource Department (HRD), and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM).
Following the regional and state level attestation, the Ministry of External Affairs performs attestation. MEA attestation is the last step of authentication from the home government. MEA is the authority to deal with the foreign affairs of the country and has a significant role to play in the attestation process. MEA meticulously checks the document and affixes a stamp to establish its authenticity.
After MEA attestation the embassy of the destination country authenticates the legality of the document to ensure it is acceptable for official purposes. For most countries, the attestation ends with this step.
In addition to Qatar, in countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and UAE, it is MOFA or The Ministry of Foreign Affairs that manages the foreign affairs of the country. Attestation by this ministry, which is also known as MOFA attestation, is a mandatory step in the attestation of documents in these countries.
Time taken for Medical Certificate Attestation in Qatar
Attestation of the document is a complex and time-consuming procedure regardless of the purpose for which you intend to use it. However, the time it takes to complete the attestation procedure varies for each country. It may also differ in duration according to the type of document you want to attest. Though the attestation process may take a week to complete, it may get extended if the operational efficiency of the officials is less.