Visa On Arrival Extended

As we were hoping, the visa upon arrival has been extended.

The Qatar UK Embassy has a rather confusing message which could mean anything, but the US Embassy states:

"Visa Upon Arrival Has Been Extended Until Further Notice"

You can see the notice here: Qatar Embassy Visa Form.

We checked with the British Embassy's press officer, and was told that the Embassy had heard the plan was under review. Meanwhile, the British embassy website says:

We have been advised by the Government of Qatar that the plan to remove – from 1 May - the provision whereby British passport holders can obtain a visitors visa on arrival in Qatar will not now go ahead. British visitors intending to travel to Qatar may currently apply for a visa on arrival in Qatar.

If you are planning to visit Qatar, please check with your embassy and airline to see if there has been any change in visa regulations - as we have said for years, things can change very rapidly in Qatar.

For more comprehensive information see our page Qatar Visas (which we'll be updating with this information in just a minute!)

Also see: Canceling your Visa

Qatar Visa Confusion

The Qatar embassy in London used to be one of the most helpful places when finding out visa information for Qatar.

Whereas immigration would say "No English" and slam the phone down, the embassy would answer the phone, provide information and, upon sending an SAE, send out a visa form.

That sadly seems to have changed.

One Qatar Visitor reader from the UK wrote to us saying that previously she got a six month visa from the London embassy, but can now no longer get in contact with them.

Another said that he finally managed to get through on his 17th call, but was told he could no longer have a three month visa.

Now he wants to know if he can renew his one month visa on arrival.

Unfortunately, information is contradictory.

You certainly could in the past, and according to the official Hukoomi website you can renew your visa at the airport.

However, Qatar Airways, who are normally very up-to-date on these issues, had no knowledge of this.

We haven't managed to get through to immigration or the Qatar embassy in the UK, but will continue to investigate!

Qatar Embassy in Tokyo

The Qatar Embassy in Tokyo, Japan is in the ritzy Hiroo area of the Japanese capital.

Qatar Embassy Tokyo
2-3-28 Moto-Azabu
Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0046
Tel: 03 5475 0611/3
Fax: 03 5475 0617
Exit 1, Hiroo Stn, Hibiya Subway Line.
Map to Qatar Embassy Tokyo

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Baby left behind!

One of our forum members was devastated recently when she had to leave her baby behind in the Philippines. 

The young mother was on maternity leave in the Philippines. She made extensive enquiries into the visa situation for a baby and was told repeatedly that she did not need to have a visa for a new baby. 

However, upon arrival at the airport Qatar Airways informed her that she could not take the baby with her:

According to them, there was one incident 3 weeks back that the baby was sent back to the philippines simply because the airport immigration denied the baby to enter here in qatar. Qatar airways personnel informed me that the immigration captain on duty told them i should be under my husband sponsorship for them to allow my baby(less than 3 months old) to enter qatar without needing a visa.

All the advice we have received states that young mothers can bring new born children into the baby. However, after this incident it is probably better to play safe, and get a visa for your child prior to entry. 

Also see:

Qatar Visas

Visit Visas on Hold

Google Gets it Wrong with Visa HQ

Turned Away at the Gates
Tourist Visa for Qatar

Qatar Jobs

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Renewing your Residence Permit

We have been reviewing our post on Renewing your Residence Permit, and after finding that the forms were not yet on Hukoomi we have added PDFs of the relevant form along with the accompanying notes to our website:

Qatar Residence Permits Forms:

Form to Renew Residence Permit | Important Notes

You may also find our updated post on Renewing Residence Permits for Families useful.

Also see our Regularly Updated Qatar Visa Information and our Qatar Visa Forum

Qatar Visit Visas on Hold

Many hotels in Qatar have been asked to stop issuing Visit Visas, the Peninsula reported today. The temporary block is due to an upcoming United Nations development conference which is to be held in Doha. The moratarium is said to have started on the 4th November, and will continue until the 5th December. Residents of the UK and America, as well as other countries on Qatar's list of nations who can get visa on arrival, should be unaffected - at least as long as they have not been resident in the country in the last two years (see Qatar Immigration - Turned Away at the Gates).

Qatar Visa Information | Qatar Visa Forum | Visit Visa E Services (Hukoomi)

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Qatar Internet: Google Gets it Wrong with Visa HQ

The primary aim of a successful search should be to return the most useful result to the searcher. So it's interesting that a Google search should return Visa HQ as the number one result to a search for Qatar Visas made in Qatar.


Searching for visa information for UK residents in the UK returns this advice:

"Citizens of United Kingdom residing in United Kingdom have to apply for a visa to Qatar in person at the nearest consulate of Qatar in United Kingdom."

Of course, as hardened Qatar travellers will realise, the advice is wrong. British citizens arriving in Qatar, so long as they have not been resident in Qatar for the last two years, can get visa on arrival at the airport. Officially they should be on Qatar Airways plane, but in practice this does not really seem to matter.

This is not just a mistake by Visa HQ - similar searches for other countries return exactly the same advice. Even the search for Qatar Visa for a Qatar citizen looking for a visa to Qatar!

"Citizens of Qatar residing in Qatar have to apply for a visa to Qatar in person at the nearest consulate of Qatar in Qatar."

What is happening here is that Visa HQ is gaming Google. Providing a free service is a well known way to get highly ranked in Qatar, enabling websites to then sell their services - in this case visa services (provided for US and Canadian citizens only). With a vast array of countries, Visa HQ appears to provide a huge amount of information for those searching for visas. In fact, though, the visa information we had returned was false or nonsensical, and obviously computer generated.

HQ is also a brand - and Google rates brands, as this quote from SEO Book blog shows:

"The internet is fast becoming a "cesspool" where false information thrives, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said yesterday.

'Brands are the solution, not the problem," Mr. Schmidt said. "Brands are how you sort out the cesspool.' "

Which is why you sometimes get a pile of rubbish on a brand site like Visa HQ rating above a valid web page such as Qatar Embassy's visa page, a government site providing valid visa information from the source, as well as our own regularly updated visa page.

Also see: Qatar Visas | Qatar Immigration: Turned Away at the Gates | Qatar Visa Forum | Police Clearance for Qatar

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Qatar Immigration: Turned Away at the Gates

British residents who have previously worked in Qatar are being turned away from the formerly hospitable country.

I first heard about this when a friend of a friend arrived at Doha airport. He had worked here before, and had visited his friends in the country on two occasions.

After queueing at immigration he was ordered to sit to the side. After a two hour wait, he was told he would be refused entrance as two years had not passed since his resident permit had expired.

It turned out that a little known law had just been introduced, and even his airline, Qatar Airways, had not known about this law. Typically enough, the law was introduced just before Eid.

Although details of the law are still not clear, according to the Peninsula former residents who have worked in Qatar may not be allowed into the country until two years after their work permit has expired. We have been told that residents who have a letter of no-objection from their employer will probably be able to enter the country.

The law is applicable to all residents, although those nationalities who get a tourist visa on arrival are those who will be most affected. It is not clear if the law is being applied to everyone, and some people may still be getting through without a problem.

The law itself represents a dramatic change in policy. Previously, former residents could not return to work within two years without the approval of their former employees.

This disturbing change in policy could affect Qatar's developing tourist industry, as many so called tourists are in fact Westerners coming to visit friends and familes. These 'tourists' include a sizable 40,000 Brits.

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Renewing your Residence Permit

How To Renew a Family Visa

Update: After finding the forms unavailable on Hukoomi, we have now scanned the forms and added the PDFs to the Qatar Visitor website - see links below.

While employees residence permits are usually renewed by companies, employees may have to renew the residence permits of those they sponsor - wives/husbands, children e.t.c. Fortunately, renewing a residence permit is a relatively simple matter.

When the time came to renew my daughter's residence permit we headed down to the typists in Sofatel to pick up a form and get it typed up (but any typist will do). To complete the form you need:

• your passport/ID
• your dependents' (wife/children) passports
• your telephone number
• your PO Box number

We needed my passport and my daughter's passport, one picture (the background should not be white, although in fact ours was and it did not cause any problems) and photocopies of the passports. The renewal of the visa cost QAR300, although government employees with the relevant letter can get it free. The form should be signed, but young children can give a thumb print instead.

Having got your form typed up, you can renew your residence permit in either the post office or in immigration. We chose the post office - it turned out to be a good choice, as the there was only a small queue. Although being Qatar, the automatic machine that gives you a waiting number was behind a screen and desk, and had an operator, meaning that you had to stand up and queue to get the ticket that meant you didn't have to stand up and queue!

Still there were only a couple of people waiting, the post office is a pleasant and civilized place (my wife went to the cafe to get a coffee while I waited) and the whole process only took about ten minutes. And now we don't have to do it again for my daughter for another three years - hooray!

Official Forms: Form to Renew Residence Permit | Important Notes

Renewing your Residence Permit on Hukoomi

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