Qatar Travel Restrictions and Travel Requirements
Is it possible to visit Qatar?
Qatar welcomes foreign tourists from the majority of nations, with various admission criteria depending on the country of origin. Currently, Qatar has created particular health and safety precautions for visitors to Qatar based on Covid-19 epidemiology in other countries and their local health risk indicators – Standard Health Measures and Red Health Measures.
Currently, Red Health Measures will only apply to arrivals from seven countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
Is Qatar welcoming to international visitors for tourism?
Qatar welcomes international visitors. Citizens of over 90 countries are now eligible for visa-free entrance into Qatar; however, the length of stay may vary. Unvaccinated travelers from countries subject to ‘Red Health Measures’ will be denied admission into Qatar. Aside from that, all qualified visitors to Qatar must follow certain requirements, which vary based on their country of origin.
More information may be found in our Qatar Quarantine Guidelines article.
What are Qatar’s vaccine requirements?
The following vaccinations have been authorized or provisionally approved by the Ministry of Public Health:
- Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty)
- Moderna (Spikefax)
- AstraZeneca (Coveshield/Oxford/Vaxzevria)
- Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (only one dose)
Conditionally accepted:
- Two Doses of Sinopharm
- Two doses of Sinovac
- Two Doses of Sputnik V
- Two Doses of Covaxin
What are the requirements for entering Qatar?
Entry requirements in general
According to the Ministry of Public Health in Qatar, some of the general criteria are as follows:
- Qatar has created unique health and safety precautions for visitors to Qatar based on COVID-19 epidemiology in different countries and their local health risk indicators – Standard Health Measures and Red Health Measures.
- Citizens and residents are free to go abroad at any time, as long as they follow the Travel and Return Policy upon returning to Qatar.
- To minimize the spread of COVID-19, travelers must always follow Qatar’s COVID-19 guidelines.
- Travellers who are obliged to get a PCR lab result before visiting Qatar must do so at a medical facility recognized by the health authorities in their home country. A negative test result is necessary, and it must be acquired within 48 hours of departure from the country of origin.
- Unvaccinated children under the age of 12 traveling with immune or recovered parent/s must follow the same regulations as their parent/s and are only needed to undergo a post-arrival test (Rapid Antigen Test) at the following locations:
- Citizens and Residents: within 24 hours after arrival in Qatar, at any public/private clinic, and parent/s must sign an Undertaking form.
- If the parent/s are exempt from quarantine, testing for children will take place at the port of entry (airport, land, or sea) upon arrival in Qatar; if the parent/s are subject to hotel quarantine, testing will take place in the quarantine hotel.
Typical health factors
All other nations’ arrivals, excluding those subject to the ‘Red Health Measures,’ will be subject to the ‘Standard Health Measures.’
Standard health precautions for Qataris
Vaccinated visitors
- Qatari citizens who are fully vaccinated will be exempt from the five-day home quarantine requirement.
- Will be required to conduct a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) within 24 hours of arrival in Qatar.
Unvaccinated visitors
- They must get a PCR test within 24 hours of arriving in Qatar.
- When they arrive in the nation, they will be subject to a five-day home quarantine.
- On the fifth day of quarantine, a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) is necessary.
Requirements to enter Qatar
Travellers who have been completely inoculated with a vaccination recognized by Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health must produce the original immunization certificate as well as additional supporting documentation written in Arabic or English demonstrating that they have got the vaccine, as follows:
- The traveller’s name must match the name on the passport.
- Dose schedules for each vaccination type (one dose for the Jansen vaccine and two doses for other vaccines).
- The vaccine’s type/name.
- The batch number of the vaccination (if any).