Visas

Nationals of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman -- and British passport holders with right of abode in the UK do not need a visa to enter Qatar.

If your passport has an Israeli stamp, you will be denied entry.

Arranging a visa through a hotel

The big hotels in Doha arrange either tourist or business visas for their guests -- usually on the condition that you stay in the hotel for the duration of your visit, and are willing to surrender your passport to the hotel during your stay. In order to get a visa, contact the hotel with your passport details, reason for visit, arrival and departure dates and your flight information. The flight information is extremely important as the visa will be collected by you on your arrival at the airport. Normally, it takes about a week to process visa requests.

Once you have contacted the hotel, you should receive a fax or telex acknowledging receipt of your reservation and quoting your visa number.

Upon arrival at Doha airport, go to the window where visa forms are distributed. Once you have the form, get into the passport control line as you would anywhere else. The Immigration Officer will complete the process for you.

A tourist visa is valid for 14 days and costs QR105. Business visas for 7 days cost QR120. If you have not already paid the visa fee, you must do so at the airport when you arrive. There is a bank next to the visa desk.

Both types of visas can be easily extended for a small price. Tourist visas can be extended for an additional 14 days and business ones for another 7. The renewal is handled by the hotel or company acting as your sponsor.

Theoretically it is possible to obtain a 72-hour transit visa upon arrival at Doha Airport if you have an onward ticket. The fact is, however, that airlines are often unwilling to board a passenger who is unable to prove that he has a visa waiting for him in Doha.