Qatar makes travel easier for residents

Residents wishing to travel and return will automatically receive an exceptional entry permit upon departure

The quarantine period will be for one week only after arrival in the country regardless of destination

STARTING from November 29, residents who are currently in Qatar and wish to travel and return will automatically receive an exceptional entry permit upon departure, the Government Communications Office (GCO) has said.

In a statement on Thursday, the GCO said the resident or their employer will be able to print out the exceptional entry permit from the Ministry of Interior’s website at any point after the resident has departed Qatar. Requests will no longer be needed to be submitted through the “Qatar Portal” website.

The permit will be available automatically upon registration of the resident’s departure from Qatar.

The decision is in continuation of the gradual lifting of restrictions imposed in Qatar as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, based on public health indicators in Qatar and around the world, and on Qatar’s travel policy announced previously.

However, the automatic exceptional entry permit service will not be available for residents who are currently outside of Qatar.

They are still required to obtain the exceptional return permit via the “Qatar Portal” website if they wish to return to Qatar.

THE statement said the quarantine period will be for one week only after arrival in the country, regardless of destination. Home quarantine will be applied to those coming from countries on the Ministry of Public Health’s Green List.

Hotel quarantine is mandatory for those coming from countries that are not included in the Green List. The quarantine period for those who use shared quarantine facilities will be two weeks. The decision is based on national and international epidemiology statistics.

Based on these new procedures, a COVID-19 test will be conducted for those returning from travel upon arrival to the country if they haven’t had a test within 48 hours before travelling to Doha by one of the Ministry of Public Health’s accredited COVID-19 testing centres.

A second test will be conducted on the sixth day from the date of arrival. The status on the Ehteraz application will remain yellow until the end of the seventh day from the date of arrival.

Hotel quarantine is mandatory for those coming from countries that are not included on the Green List. The quarantine period for those who use shared quarantine facilities will be two weeks