Qatar Tightens Entry Requirements Effective Immediately

Qatar has been closed for non-national arrivals but reopened for those from Gulf Cooperation Council that have been fully vaccinated.

They have not been to the six mostly Covid-ravaged countries in the region (quarantine applies) and need to have a negative Covid-19 PCR-RT test administered not more than 72 hours after their arrival to Doha.

You can access Qatar’s page for Travel Alerts here.

Here’s the update:

There are changes to entry restrictions for certain travellers to Qatar effective immediately.

GCC nationals and those accompanying them arriving in Qatar will be exempt from quarantine if they have received a full dose of one of the vaccines recognised by the Ministry of Public Health in Qatar more than 14 days prior to their arrival.

These travellers will need to present an official, stamped vaccination card or  vaccination certificate indicating the type of vaccine received, date of vaccination of each dose and should preferably include the lot number in order to qualify for the exemption.

They will also need to have taken a PCR test at an establishment recognised by the local authorities and received a negative result no more than 72 hours prior to their scheduled time of arrival in Qatar.

These rules apply to all travellers who are nationals of GCC countries and those accompanying them, including children. Travellers not meeting these criteria will need to undergo a seven-day hotel quarantine booked through Discover Qatar.

Vaccinated parents meeting the exemption requirements, but arriving in Qatar with children up to 18 years of age who are not vaccinated will also need to quarantine with them, or in the case of two vaccinated parents travelling with unvaccinated children, one parent will be required to undergo hotel quarantine with the children. During the quarantine period, the parents cannot exchange their roles on who will be accompanied with the children.

• Please note that any GCC citizen and their accompanying family/staff traveling *from* one of the six high-risk countries will besubject to hotel quarantine regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination or health status.

Here are the referenced six counties:

• India
• Nepal
• Bangladesh
• Pakistan
• Sri Lanka
• Philippines

CCG Citizens refer to:

• United Arab Emirates
• Saudi Arabia
• Oman
• Kuwait
• Bahrain

Conclusion

So, Qatar has reopened for CCG nationals with completed vaccination and negative Covid-19 test. Those having visited the “naughty” six countries should probably spend time somewhere else first.

Considering that Qatar runs by immigrant workers, who are not usually treated well, from these six countries, perhaps there is a labor shortage in the making?