Qatar relaxes air travel norms for residents with exceptional entry permits

By Rahul Vaimal, Associate Editor
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Qatar Airways Staff
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In an attempt to further ease the COVID-19 induced travel restrictions and facilitate air travel to and from the country, the Qatar government has extended an automatic exceptional entry permit service which will allow current residents to travel from Qatar and return without the need of any additional clearances.

From November 29, Qatar residents who are currently present in the country and wish to travel and return will automatically receive an exceptional entry permit upon departure. The individual or the employer whose employee is making the trip can gather the exceptional entry permit from the Ministry of Interior’s website at any point after the person has left the country.

These travelers will not require any requests through the “Qatar Portal” website for their return as the permit will be automatically generated once the person registers their departure from Qatar.

Qatar residents who are still outside the country will need to seek the exceptional return permit through the “Qatar Portal” website as and when they decide to travel back to the country.

Quarantine Period

All individuals arrivals into Qatar are mandated to honor 7 days quarantine, regardless of the country they are arriving from.

Flyers who returning from countries on the Ministry of Public Health’s Green List can serve their mandatory 7-day isolation at their homes while those who are coming from countries that are not included in the Green List will have to stay at a hotel for the duration. Meanwhile, individuals who use shared quarantine facilities will have to isolate them for 14 days.

COVID-19 Tests

Travelers who have not had a COVID-19 test at one of the Ministry of Public Health’s accredited COVID-19 Testing Centers abroad in the last 48 hours prior to their arrival in the country will be tested for the virus at arrival with a second test being 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.

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