The E-gate services at the Hamad International Airport (HIA) will soon be made free of charge for expatriates, reported Qatar Tribune.

“The E-gate service is free to use for Qatari nationals. Work is currently underway to extend the service free of cost to expatriates, along with facilitating easy access to e-gates through activation of identity cards inside HIA,” Qatar Tribune quoted Colonel Mohamed Rashid Al Mazroui, Director of the Airport Passports Department at the Ministry of Interior (MoI), as saying.

It is understood that the service will help save time and effort for passengers as they will be able to avoid queues at passport counters.

With the whole check-in or check-out process taking only 16 seconds, it will be a breeze. The number of E-gate service subscribers has crossed 60,000.

Al Mazroui said they were working on several projects to cope with the increasing number of passengers at the HIA. He added that MoI was taking security measures to keep track of all those who enter the country to ensure they leave in due time.

The E-gate system allows passengers to enter and exit the country with ease. Holders of the e-Gate card may bypass the immigration formalities at the HIA by punching their cards at the gate and pressing their index fingers on an electronic scanner.

The applicant will not need any written application form to get the E-gate card. The service can be activated at the MoI services centres for those aged above 16 years.

At present, fees vary according to the card validity duration — QR100 for one year, QR150 for two years and QR200 for three years.