COVID-19 pandemic has put the global travel plans on hold. But some countries are easing travels with strict conditions to keep the virus spread in check. Qatar announced on Friday that it will start issuing family and tourist visas for Indian nationals from July 12 and released the new guidelines under which travellers will be allowed in the country.
The Indian embassy in Doha released the complete list of SoPs required for Indian nationals to travel to Qatar. All the details are provided on Qatar's Ministry of Public Health website or Hukoomi portal regarding traveling to Qatar from India.
Travel without quarantine
Qatar is allowing Resident Permit holders, family, tourist and business travellers to enter the country without quarantine on the condition that they are fully vaccinated with approved vaccines, including Covishield. However, the ministry does not have Covaxin in the list of approved vaccines. Travellers must have completed 14 days after their second dose of the vaccine to be considered fully-vaccinated. Besides, children below the age of 3 years are also exempted from quarantine as long as their parents are vaccinated.
When to quarantine?
Indian nationals visiting Qatar must undergo mandatory quarantine, but the period varies depending on their vaccine status. Individuals who are not vaccinated and even those who are partially vaccinated, vaccinated but not completed 14 days after second dose; recovered from Covid within the last 9 months in countries outside of Qatar or GCC must undergo 10 days of mandatory quarantine.
Children aged between 4-17 years who are not vaccinated must compulsorily undergo 10 days quarantine even if accompanied by a vaccinated adult parent. One parent must stay with the child in quarantine in such cases.
All travellers must carry a negative RT-PCR test taken minimum 72 hours of arrival. Passengers must also mandatorily register on ehteraz.gov.qa at least 12 hours before travel. If passengers test positive on arrival, they must undergo mandatory isolation.
