Qatar now welcoming fully vaccinated travellers

TORONTO — Qatar has reopened its borders to travellers who’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, effective immediately.

The new streamlined set of measures, designed to make travelling to Qatar as easy as possible, will also allow those who are fully vaccinated to visit without the need for quarantine. However, all visitors – vaccinated or non-vaccinated – will still be required to take a PCR test up to 72 hours prior to travel.

Vaccine brand name	MOPH rules to be considered fully vaccinated or additional requirements
Comirnaty by Pfizer BioNTech (mRNA vaccine) Spikevax by ModernaTX, Inc. (mRNA vaccine) Vaxzevria, and Covishield by Oxford-Astrazeneca (Viral Vector vaccine) Janssen/Johnson & Johnson by Janssen Pharmaceuticals Companies of Johnson & Johnson (Viral Vector vaccine)	14 days must have passed since the completion of the vaccination program 2 shots for Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna, Astrazeneca 1 shot for Johnson & Johnson
BBIBP-CorV/Sinopharm by Beijing Institute of Biological Products (Inactivated vaccine)	14 days must have passed since the completion of the vaccination program 2 shots for Sinopharm Travellers fully vaccinated with Sinopharm will need to pre-book a quarantine hotel if they are coming from a yellow or red list country, and they will be subject to an antibody test on arrival in the hotel; if the antibody test result is positive with antibodies, they will be discharged on day 1 (if coming from yellow), or once the on-hotel-arrival PCR test result is negative for travellers coming from red list country

In order to visit Qatar, international visitors, citizens and residents must register and upload required documentation such as a vaccination certificate, valid PCR test up to 72 hours prior to travel, as well as personal details through the ‘Ehteraz’ website, www.ehteraz.gov.qa.

Travellers must apply for authorization through this website, free of charge, at least 12 hours before their planned departure to Qatar. All inbound travellers are advised to submit their application as soon as they have all their required documentation to ensure they can board their flights as planned. Airlines are advised to only allow passengers who have valid travel authorization for Qatar board the aircraft.

In addition, all travellers are required to download and activate the ‘Ehteraz’ mobile app, which requires a domestic Qatari SIM card, which can be purchased from either Ooredoo or Vodafone on arrival at Hamad International Airport (HIA). Upon activation, visitors will be able to participate in public activities such as visiting malls, restaurants, museums or using taxis or public transportation.

Canadians are among over 80 nationalities who can visit Qatar with a free ‘visa on arrival.’ This allows Canadians to spend up to 30 days in Qatar during either a single trip or on multiple trips. The visa waiver may also be extended for a further 30 days. Click here for more information.

For the most up-to-date travel policies for Qatar go to https://www.visitqatar.qa/en/plan-your-trip/travel-tips.

For more information about travel to Qatar go to https://www.visitqatar.qa/.