New transit visa rules makes visiting Qatar easier

Muscat: There is good news for people travelling to Doha as Qatar revised its tourism visa scheme for its passengers transiting through Doha in a move to promote its tourism.
The new transit visa structure now allows passengers with a minimum transit time of five hours in Hamad International Airport, to stay in Qatar for up to 96 hours (four days), without the requirement to apply ahead of time for an entry visa.
This is a significant increase from the previous transit visa scheme, which allowed travellers with a minimum layover of eight hours to spend a maximum of 48 hours (two days) in Qatar.
This increase is designed to make stopovers easier and more attractive to Qatar Airways’ global passengers, and aims to deliver additional value to the local economy while strengthening Qatar’s position as an attractive tourist destination.
The Qatar transit visa is free of charge and available on arrival at Hamad International Airport to passengers of all nationalities, upon confirmation of onward journey and completion of passport control procedures. All visas are approved and issued at the sole discretion of the Ministry of Interior.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways serves millions of people from around the world as they journey across our network of more than 150 destinations. Whether travelling for business or leisure, we want to enrich the journey of all of our passengers and we are restructuring our fares to reflect this initiative and to promote stopovers to travellers. We are excited to offer our passengers the opportunity to taste the cultural highlights that the city of Doha and the State of Qatar have to offer. We are thankful to the Ministry of Interior and the Qatar Tourism Authority for helping us to create a journey that includes discovering Qatar, an experience that will stay in our visitors hearts and minds forever.”