Pay your fines - before you go on holiday

Discussion on Qatar Living has been focussing on the need to pay fines before going on holiday. This follows a recent article in the Gulf Times which reported that residents have been prevented from going on holiday because of unpaid fines.

It is not possible to pay the fines at the airport, and the residents were told to visit the traffic department. In most cases, this would mean that flights would be missed.

It is also possible to pay fines online. While some months ago there seemed to be bugs with this system, it is now working correctly and it is possible to both check for traffic violations and to pay by credit card. To do this visit the e-gov site and put your vehicle number into the box on the right side bar on the front page.

If you happen to be one of the unfortunate and are at the airport when you are refused exit - and have your laptop - remember that the airport has free wireless. It is possible that you could pay your fine and exit the county, although we haven't looked into the technicalities of this!

Be aware, however, that traffic violations do not always appear instantly on the website. The only way to be completely sure is to visit the traffic department and check personally.

Also see: Driving in Qatar: Practical Information