Qatar Quarantine Hotels: A Guide for Returning Residents to Qatar

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Updated November 2022

Please note: Quarantine is NO longer mandatory for all travellers arriving from abroad. However, travellers who test positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Qatar must undergo self-isolation measures in accordance with the procedures followed in the State of Qatar.

In response to the dynamic COVID-19 situation, and the news of the latest strain, dubbed Omicron, Qatar has modified its entry requirements by grouping countries into green, red, and exceptionally red list countries. The quarantine requirements have also been modified.

Keep reading to know more about the hotel quarantine requirement and process in Qatar.

Quarantine rules

As per the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), countries have been assigned quarantine requirements based on the COVID-19 risk levels. As per the new policy, countries are divided into the following three categories:

• Green List Countries 
• Red List Countries 
• Exceptional Red List Countries.

Travellers who are unvaccinated, inoculated with vaccines not recognized in the State of Qatar, or who fall short of the 14 days vaccine administration period since the second dose will undergo: 

Green list countries

Citizens and residents of Qatar (all ages)

• Will have to undergo a PCR test with a negative result 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
• This group will be subject to home quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in the country
• A PCR test will be conducted on the sixth day of quarantine and the individual will be released on the seventh day if the result of the COVID-19 test is negative.

GCC citizens (all age groups).

• Will have to conduct a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
• Will be subject to hotel quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in the country.​
• GCC citizens (non-residents) coming to stay with first-degree relatives residing in Qatar (on the condition that they provide proof of the relationship and national address data) will be subject to home quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in the country.
• A PCR test will be conducted on the sixth day of quarantine and the individual will be released on the seventh day if the result of the COVID-19 test is negative.

Visitors to Qatar with pre-approved and on-arrival visas (all ages)

Citizens and residents of Qatar (all ages)

• Will have to undergo a PCR test with a negative result 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
• This group will be subject to home quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in the country

A PCR test will be conducted on the sixth day of quarantine and the individual will be released on the seventh day if the result of the COVID-19 test is negative.

GCC citizens (all age groups).

Fully vaccinated travellers 

• Will have to conduct a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
• These travellers will be subject to hotel quarantine for two days upon arrival in the country.
• Passengers with a conditionally certified vaccine must perform a Serology Antibody test before arriving in Qatar and if the passenger is unable to take the test in the country of departure, the passenger must undergo hotel quarantine for 7 days. 
•  
  They will also have to undergo a PCR test at the quarantine hotel, after arrival in the country.

Unvaccinated travellers

• Will have to conduct a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
• Will be subject to hotel quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in the country.​
• GCC citizens (non-residents) coming to stay with first-degree relatives residing in Qatar (on the condition that they provide proof of the relationship and national address data) will be subject to home quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in the country.
• A PCR test will be conducted on the sixth day of quarantine and the individual will be released on the seventh day if the result of the COVID-19 test is negative.

Visitors to Qatar with pre-approved and on-arrival visas (all ages)

Fully vaccinated travellers

• Will have to conduct a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
• The following categories will be subject to hotel quarantine for two days upon arrival in the country:
  
  • Everyone aged 12 years and older.
  • Children aged 11 years and below will have to be accompanied by one or both of their parents/family members who are fully vaccinated.​
• They will also have to undergo a PCR test at the quarantine hotel, after arrival in the country.
• Passengers with a conditionally certified vaccine must perform a Serology Antibody test before arriving in Qatar and if the passenger is unable to take the test in the country of departure, the passenger must undergo hotel quarantine for 7 days. 

Unvaccinated travellers

• Will have to conduct a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
• This group will be subject to hotel quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in the country.
• Travellers with pre-issued family visas to visit one of their first-degree relatives residing in Qatar (on the condition that they provide proof of the relationship and national address data) will be subject to home quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in the country.

Exceptional red list countries

Citizens

Fully vaccinated travellers (All age groups).​

• Will have to conduct a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
• These travellers will be subject to a home quarantine for 2 days upon arrival in the country.
•  
  Will be required to conduct a PCR test within 36 hours of arriving in Qatar.

Unvaccinated travellers

• Will have to conduct a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
• Unvaccinated travellers will be subject to a home quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in the country.
• A PCR test is required to be taken on the sixth day of quarantine and the individual will be released on the seventh day if the result of the COVID-19 test is negative (all age groups).

Residents of Qatar and GCC citizens

Fully vaccinated travellers

• Will have to conduct a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
• These travellers will be subject to hotel quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in Qatar.
• A PCR test will be performed on the sixth day of quarantine and the individual will be released on the seventh day if the result of the COVID-19 test is negative (all age groups).

Visitors to Qatar with pre-approved and on-arrival visas (all ages)

Fully vaccinated travellers (all age groups)

• Will have to conduct a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
• These travellers will be subject to hotel quarantine for 2 days upon arrival in Qatar.
• A PCR test will be performed on the first day at the quarantine hotel after arrival (all age groups).​

Unvaccinated travellers

• Unvaccinated travellers from this category will not be allowed entry into the country.

Some of the exceptional red list countries

The travellers coming from some of the exceptional red list countries that include- Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe​ will have to follow some additional guidelines:

Citizens

Fully vaccinated and Unvaccinated travellers

• Will have to conduct a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arrival in Qatar.
•  The travellers will be subject to a home quarantine for 7 days upon arrival in the country, with the option to choose to undergo hotel quarantine if desired.
• In the case of home quarantine (all age groups):
  • Conduct a PCR test on arrival in Qatar at one of the ports.
  • A PCR test will be performed on arrival on the sixth day and if a negative test result appears, the person will be released from quarantine on the seventh day.
• In the case of hotel quarantine (all age groups):
  • The PCR test will be done on the first day at the quarantine hotel after arrival.
  • A PCR test will be performed on the sixth day and if the test result is negative, the person will be released from quarantine on the seventh day.

GCC citizens

Who are exempt from the quarantine requirement?

Vaccinated travellers

The following is the list of approved COVID-19 vaccines in Qatar:

• Pfizer/BioNTech Vaccine (Comernate)
• Moderna Vaccine (Spikefax)
• AstraZeneca vaccines (Coveshield / Oxford / Vaxepheria)
• Janssen/Johnson & Johnson Vaccine (One Dose)

Conditionally approved vaccine

• Sinopharm vaccine
• Sinovac vaccine
• Sputnik V vaccine

Citizens and residents of Qatar, GCC citizens and visitors from green-list countries, above the age of 12, who are fully vaccinated, inside or outside Qatar, by any of the vaccines mentioned above are exempt from the quarantine requirement. Children aged 11 years and below accompanied by one or both of their parents/family members who are fully vaccinated are also exempt from the quarantine requirement.

Please note that passengers with a conditionally certified vaccine must perform a Serology Antibody test before arriving in Qatar and if the passenger is unable to take the test in the country of departure, the passenger must undergo home quarantine for 7 days, and visitors have to undergo hotel quarantine for 7 days.

Citizens and residents from Qatar from red-list countries, above the age of 12, who are fully vaccinated, inside or outside Qatar, by any of the vaccines mentioned above are exempt from the quarantine requirement. Children aged 11 years and below accompanied by one or both of their parents/family members who are fully vaccinated are also exempt from the quarantine requirement.

Travellers must present an official vaccination certificate that includes the following information:

1. 1. Name of the recipient as mentioned in their passport. 
   2. Vaccination Date is clearly written as 1st and/or 2nd dose.
   3. Type/Name of the vaccine. 
   4. Vaccine Lot number (if available)
   5. Official logo or stamp of the vaccination authority

Recovered individuals

• Citizens and residents of Qatar from green-list countries and red-list countries, who have recovered from COVID-19 inside Qatar and 14 days have passed from the date of recovery are exempt from the quarantine requirement.
• For GCC citizens from green-list countries who have recovered from COVID-19 within a GCC country and 14 days have passed from the date of recovery, provided that one dose of an approved vaccine has been given will be exempt from the quarantine requirement.

Hotel quarantine 

Please make sure to check before booking, if you are required to go through the hotel quarantine process. 

Guidelines

For the duration of the 2 or 7-day quarantine, guests are subject to strict measures outlined in the guidelines as follows:

• Guests are not allowed to leave their rooms
• Guests are not allowed to access hotel facilities such as pool, restaurant, gym, etc
• Guests will have their meals delivered to their rooms
• Items can be delivered to the hotel, but no items are allowed to leave the hotel until the quarantine period is completed. If food is being delivered, this must be safely packaged in disposable containers. Any cutlery or similar items should also be disposable.
• Guests are not allowed to receive visitations of any kind
• Guests may share a room only with family members (a maximum of two adults and one child per room)
• Guests will have access to laundry facilities (at a cost)

List of designated quarantine hotels

The following are hotels that have officially been designated as Qatar quarantine hotels by the Ministry of Public Health. It’s important to note that bookings can only be made through the Qatar airways holidays website and it is strongly recommended that travellers read through the FAQ’s to learn more about the type of quarantine they need to observe. Please make sure to check your quarantine requirement from above.

Quarantine hotels for travellers returning from UK, South Africa, Netherlands, and Denmark

Qatar hotel safety measures

In addition to the safety measures implemented by individual hotel chains, the Qatari authorities have also outlined a set of guidelines to be followed by hotels and resorts under the Qatar Clean program.    

Some key measures as follows:

• Temperature check instruments to be made available to security across all entry points
• Contactless check-in – Develop mobile app to enable contactless check-in via digital keys and compatible doors
• Display health advisories signage at key high traffic areas such as the hotel lobby, restaurants and elevators in the hotel
• Compulsory wearing of masks for staff who are in direct contact with customers and in kitchens for restaurants & dining facilities
• Self-service offerings such as buffets to be reduced to a minimum.
• Ensure a safe distance of at least 2 meters between tables and between seats at F&B outlets, common spaces, salons & spas
• Trained hotel managers to oversee all key requirements and details of the program