This morning I took a long ride to the Immigration Office for fingerprinting as the final part of getting residency. It my first time being driven by a Qatari in his vast Toyota Landcruiser.

Driving in Doha is both offensive and defensive. Very fast, close to the cars in front and lots of heavy braking. There is also little lane discipline, and making and receiving phone calls seems the norm.

We arrived at the Fingerprinting office… there were three signs…one for Gents fingerprinting, another for Ladies and the one I used.

Another number and a short wait in line. A large video screen showed a programme about road safety, or lack of it as the first ten minutes was of pictures of cars that had been absolutely destroyed in accidents.

My turn came… my photo was taken, all ten digits were scanned into a computer and finally both palm prints.

All done and back at high speed into the city. If all goes well, I should have my Residency Permit by tomorrow afternoon.