Qatar Announces New Rules to Ease Visits, Residency Visas

The Ministry of Interior has introduced significant revisions to regulations governing the entry process for residents' families seeking both visitation and residency purposes.

The ministry, in a statement, emphasized that these updates aim to "enhance the quality of services in accordance with the state's overarching strategy."

According to the revised procedures, sponsorship for families is contingent on the provisions outlined in the employee’s electronic work contract, particularly regarding salary and accommodation details. In the government and semi-government sectors, employees are required to either secure family housing through their employer or maintain a salary not less than QR10,000, as verified by their employment contract.

Private sector employees must hold professions in technical or specialized fields (non-labour), with a salary not less than QR10,000 or QR6,000 along with family housing, as stipulated in their employment contract.

Furthermore, in cases of family sponsorship, children must not exceed 25 years of age, and daughters must be unmarried. Health insurance covering the entire duration of their stay, effective from their entry into the country, is now mandatory.

For children within the mandatory education age bracket (6-18 years old), enrollment in licensed schools within the country or evidence of enrollment outside Qatar through the educational platform supervised by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education is a prerequisite for the issuance or renewal of the residence permit.

In the context of family visits, the sponsoring resident’s profession must belong to non-labour sectors, with a salary not less than QR5,000.

The sponsoring resident should have family housing accredited by the relevant authorities. While there is no specific age restriction for the visitor, health insurance covering the visitor’s stay in Qatar is compulsory.

The ministry has confirmed that these updated procedures and regulations are now in effect. To ensure public convenience and ease, the General Directorate of Passports is providing all its services electronically through the Metras’2 app and the Ministry of Interior’s official website.

December 05, 2023