World Cup Visitors And Digital 'Hiya Card'
World Cup visitors and digital 'Hiya Card'
The World Cup is almost at an end. And Qatar has made various arrangements to welcome millions of guests from home and abroad who came to watch the World Cup.
Many technologies and ideas have been used for the first time in this World Cup. One such idea is the temporary visitor ID card or 'Fan ID'. The name of this completely digital identity card is 'Hayya Card'. With the help of this, as the guests can easily avail many facilities, it is also possible to ensure their safety.
What Is Haya Card?
Hia card is basically a visitor's identity card. The government of Qatar has made this identity card mandatory for everyone who comes to watch the FIFA World Cup. This card will be required even if a resident of Qatar wants to watch the World Cup game, except for foreign nationals. Each HAIA card has a different 'HAIA Number'. With this number, the information of any visitor can be extracted from the database automatically.
Various necessary information including cardholder's photo, match ticket, passport number, QR code is attached to the Haya card. Basically everyone can use their card through the mobile app. However one can also collect the printed card if he wants to, although it is not mandatory to carry the printed card.
Although the Haya card has many uses, its main purpose is to ensure Qatar's security during the World Cup. By doing this, it is possible to confirm the identity of everyone who came to the country during the World Cup. At the same time, it is easy to ensure that everyone stays safe while traveling in the country. According to FIFA guidelines, all those coming to Qatar to watch the World Cup have to apply for a HAYA card.
Benefits Of Haya Card
The biggest advantage of the Haya card is that international visitors can enter Qatar without a visa with the help of this card. Whether by sea, land or air, this card can be entered in Qatar till December 23. And Haya card holders can legally stay in Qatar until January 23. Besides, during the World Cup, you can also enter the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia with this card.
Again, Haya cardholders can travel for free on the country's public transport. Especially on the occasion of the World Cup, Qatar has introduced many new public transports to take visitors to the venue. People from different parts of Qatar are coming to the stadium to watch the game by riding these public transports called 'Doha Metro' or 'Lucille Tram'. And during the match, visitors with HAYA card can reach the stadium by riding these shuttle buses, metro trains or trams for free.
As well as the ticket to watch the World Cup games, the HAYA card will be required, as well as the HAYA card holders can also participate in other events besides the match. One such event is the 'FIFA Fan Festival', where concerts, games, DJs and big-screen broadcasts during matches are organized every day during the World Cup. There are many facilities to enjoy like spot dancer robot, mini golf, bubble football or museum in this festival. Visitors can also taste delicious food from different countries.
Haya card holders will also be able to spend free time on the one and a half kilometer long beach named 'Ras Abu Abud Beach 974' located next to 'Stadium 974'. Various arrangements are made here including music or water sports. Again, there is a big fashion show organized at 'Stadium 974' on December 16. Clothing made by 150 famous designers and brands from different countries will be showcased, where more than 80 models will participate. Also, concerts will be held with the participation of artists from different countries in this fashion show. Haya card holders can purchase tickets for this event at a special discount.
Those with the HAYA card will also get special discounts at various museums, exhibitions, restaurants, events or shopping in Qatar. For that only they need to use specific promo code. Many places can also be entered for free by showing this card. In addition, if you have Haya Card app on your mobile, you can easily plan your travels in Qatar. Haya Card can be used on all devices running on iOS or Android operating system.
Haya cardholders will also receive a free mobile SIM upon arrival in Qatar. With this SIM they will get free 2022 minutes talk time, 2022 SMS and 2022 MB data. This SIM will be given by Qatar's telecommunication company 'Uridu', which is named 'Haiya SIM'.
Also, visitors can seek emergency medical care at any time during the tournament. This service can be availed free of charge by showing HIA card at certain hospitals. Haya card holders will be able to undergo free 'Covid-19' test through 'Rapid Antigen Test'. This test is available in every public health center and over 100 private hospitals in Qatar.
Application And Approval For Haya Card
Until the start of the World Cup, only those who had match tickets could apply for the HAYA card. But after the start of the World Cup, others are also able to apply. For this reason, applicants need to submit scanned photos of their passports, passport size photos, mobile numbers and information about where foreign visitors will be staying in Qatar.
80 staff are engaged to verify Haya card applicants. If you apply from a country other than Qatar, it takes 1 to 5 days and if you apply from Qatar, it takes 1 to 3 days to approve the Haya card. And the entire process is done online. However, during the tournament, the application for Hiya card is being scrutinized and approved as soon as possible, officials said. There are special e-mails and helplines for card delays. When calling the helpline, there are multilingual staff to talk to the applicant.
Applicants can easily know the current status of the card after application from the website. Haya card is also available for children under guardianship. The entire process is free of charge.
Privacy Of Information
Many media outlets have raised questions about the privacy and security of visitors' personal information being stored for HAYA cards. In many media, this card is referred to as the conventional 'e-Visa'. And currently, in order to apply for a visa in any country, the officials of that country have to provide their personal information. Moreover, the Qatari authorities have also published the 'Privacy Policy' of the information collected for this card.
Anyone's face can be identified with CCTV cameras installed for security at every World Cup match venue and other important locations. And images collected for 'Haiya Card' are being used for facial recognition. Many have objected to this matter. However, Qatar is not the first instance of facial recognition using the stadium's CCTV cameras. Many European countries, including the UK, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Spain, have been using this technology to monitor spectators at football matches for several years.
Facial recognition technology was used in stadiums during the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff, UK. And the technology mistakenly identified 2,000 people as potential criminals. Compared to that, facial recognition technology has not caused any major problems in this World Cup so far.
Finally, despite many criticisms, it has been possible to quickly verify the information of visitors from different countries in major events like the World Cup through Hiya Card. As a result of this card system, it is also possible to give them better security. In other words, temporary digital identity cards like the HAYA card could be a model for future organizers of major events like the World Cup.