Tourists Visa

Visa on arrival is available for the residents of 33 countries including Britain, America, Canada and Australia (see below for full list) at a cost of 100 riyals (currently equal to 27 dollars). A joint tourist visa for Qatar and Oman is available, although Qatar must be the first port of entry.

UPDATE: THIS POLICY WILL BE CHANGING FROM 1ST MAY 2010, with many nationalities needing to apply for a visa before arrival.

According to Qatar E-government, the tourist visa is valid for two weeks, with the joint Qatar-Oman visa lasting for three weeks, after which it can be extended for a further week. We have found that in practice immigration usually give a one month Qatar-Oman visa. It is not necessary to visit Oman, and you can stay in Qatar for the duration of the visa.

Payment can be made at the immigration desk with Visa, Visa-Electron, Mastercard, Maestro or E-Cash. It can be extended for a further two weeks. A hotel booking or the presence of relatives in the country are required.
Those applying for a tourist visa should have funds of QAR5000 or its equivalent (a credit card will do). If you are staying with friends or relatives you should also have their address.

Passengers are supposed to have return tickets on a Qatar Airways flight in order to get a visa. While we have never known anyone turned away because they were on a different flight, we still recommend arriving on a Qatar Airways flight.

For an easy time with the visa-on-arrival (not that it is very difficult in the first place) book the Al Maha service via Qatar Airways. They will sit you down with a drink and organize everything for you - we have been very impressed with their service in the past.

Note that passports must be valid for six months after the date of return. Exit visas are not required.

Longer Tourist Visas
Longer tourist visas are available for the residents of countries in the list above. but must be obtained in advance. Multiple entry visas are available for six months and one year, and two year and five year multiple-entry visas are available for holders of British passports. For the application form and current rates send a self addressed envelope to the embassy in your country.

Visa on arrival is available for the residents of these countries:
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, The Netherlands, USA, UK, Vatican City.

Related News