Doha, Nov 21 (IANS): Qatar has made the residency procedures easier for expatriate workers by allowing them to complete the procedures at their home countries, a media report said.

A new agreement had been signed between the Qatari Interior Ministry and a Singapore-based company for completing all of the Qatari residence procedures of expatriate workers in their home countries, Xinhua news agency quoted Qatar News Agency (QNA) as reporting.

The first phase of the project covers eight countries, including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines and Tunisia, where workers constitute 80 per cent of the total workforce in Qatar.

According to the deal, those expatriates will be allowed to complete their medical check-up, record bio-metric data and fingerprint and sign work contracts in their home countries before coming to Qatar.

The landmark move would decrease the cases of rejection of expat workers on account of their failing medical tests.

Earlier in October, Qatar approved a draft bill to set up a support fund for its two million-strong foreign workforce.

Last year, the Qatari government also introduced a new labour law aimed at making it easier for migrant workers to change jobs and leave the country.