The Traffic Department has added 80 categories of workers who will not be eligible to get a driving licence in the country, it is learnt.

An employee of a leading driving school in Doha confirmed to Gulf Times that they received a complete list in Arabic of categories non-eligible to apply, bringing the total number to 240.

Some of the new categories of ineligible applicants include photography technician, fishing net maker, accounts technician, pharmacy assistant, newspaper sellers, computer programmer, computer programmer technician, house manager, communication assistant, health and safety technician, paramedic, architecture technician, coffee boy, decorator assistant, dental technician, pagemaker, and wood cutter, among others.

Sculptor, television technician, mining technician, and dozens of ‘technicians’ are also considered as ineligible applicants, according to the new list.

“Since we received a complete list of all the 240 categories, we advise new applicants to bring their Qatar IDs for us to determine if they are eligible to enroll,” she said.

The source added that the profession of the applicants, printed on their IDs, should not match any of the categories in the banned list.

In case of any doubts, some driving schools advise applicants to visit the Traffic Department to make further enquiries.

While some 240 categories of workers are ineligible, an employee of another driving school has expressed optimism that they will continue to receive many applicants.

He recounted that they recorded an increasing demand for securing a driver’s licence in Qatar a few months after the first list was issued three years ago.

Some of these categories included in the initial list included gypsum worker, watchman, horse trainer, labourer, sailor, servant, nanny, farmer, blacksmith, bakery worker, painter, herdsman, fisherman, tailor, calligraphy technician, shoemaker, grocery worker, tiles worker, butcher, nutrition worker, and industrial service worker, among others.

“We still receive many applicants but I admit that it was not the case three to four years ago when our schedules are full from morning to evening,” he noted.

He stressed that many professionals such as doctors, accountants, engineers, architects, and nurses, among others, as well flight attendants and household service workers who are under Qatari sponsorship, are still eligible to enroll at driving schools.

However, some learners told Gulf Times that securing a driver’s licence these days remains to be very difficult and takes a long time to get a schedule for each test.

An Indian expatriate said it took him more than a year before passing the road test recently.