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I’m off to Doha on Wednesday for a 6 day sunshine break, UK citizen flying from Dublin, I’ve done this before and know that I can get a 30 day Visa on arrival. However I am reading conflicting reports of the requirement to purchase insurance from a Qatari source. Gov.uk says the requirement has been lifted for stays under 30 days, while the Qatari visa page say insurance is one of the requirements.
I’m travelling on my Curve insurance and assuming extra insurance is not necessary for a 6 day trip, but with a lingering doubt, can anyone confirm one way or the other plz?One more thing, they appear to be pushing this Hayya thing, is there any REAL benefit in me purchasing a Hayya to lie on a beach for a week?
Many thanks in advance
I’m also interested as we are there for 5 nights in December. Does the Hayya replace the visa you would normally get on entry?
Also how strict are they about requiring a signed doctor’s letter for prescription medication? We order all ours via the GP app these days so never see paper!
Also just seen on the Visit Qatar website that UK citizens don’t need a visa, so now I’m really confused!
https://visitqatar.com/intl-en/practical-info/visas
No visa required for UK nationals. Hayya is basically an e-visa? You can use the e-gates with the Hayya e-visa as a UK national but it’s not required as a condition of entry.
We last went Doha in 2019 and didn’t need anything then either. We’re going again in February and it doesn’t look like anything has changed.
Is it worth it to be able to use the e-gates? We are flying in from DXB late at night so would prefer to avoid a long immigration queue if possible.
Is it worth it to be able to use the e-gates? We are flying in from DXB late at night so would prefer to avoid a long immigration queue if possible.
We’ve only flown in once (2019) from LHR… we were through immigration in minutes. Most people were transferring to another flight rather than entering Qatar itself. That was also late at night. Not sure what it would be like from DXB though.
Someone on here mentioned long queues because there are so many flights at night.
It’s our first ever stay in the ME so anxious not to fall foul of any unfamiliar regulations!
My understanding is that all visitors must buy the mandatory Qatari insurance for QAR 50 which is valid for 30 days and should they wish to stay longer, another policy must be bought. Google moph dot gov dot qa and Mandatory Health Insurance once on the Ministry of Public Health (moph) page
Just back from a trip to Doha, we bought the travel insurance on top off our existing worldwide travel insurance (because we thought it was a must, app £11 each) My wife carries medication with a doctors letter, we were never questioned, when we arrived there was a bit of a back log at immigration, my wife falls under the disabled category which we went straight through the disabled lane.
One other thing,
We wrongly assumed it was the same as UAE on duty free, we had purchased a bottle of alcohol at Edinburgh airport and had it confiscated at Doha, apparently you are not allowed to take alcohol into the country, (I was not alone) I think something should flaged up at your departure airport when you scan your boarding pass for the purchase informing you of the restrictions.
You can collect it on your departure from customs, ours was lost.
We did have a good holidayThanks @Ranger43. Fortunately we have lounge access at the RC Doha, so I think we’ll just stick to having a drink in there! I think sadly it would just be too complicated to keep on top of different/changing restrictions for each country to operate a BP warning system. You just have to check every time you go somewhere new. We have 2 new destinations in this trip, I’m starting to wonder if it was such a good idea!
Just back from a trip to Doha, we bought the travel insurance on top off our existing worldwide travel insurance (because we thought it was a must, app £11 each) My wife carries medication with a doctors letter, we were never questioned, when we arrived there was a bit of a back log at immigration, my wife falls under the disabled category which we went straight through the disabled lane.
One other thing,
We wrongly assumed it was the same as UAE on duty free, we had purchased a bottle of alcohol at Edinburgh airport and had it confiscated at Doha, apparently you are not allowed to take alcohol into the country, (I was not alone) I think something should flaged up at your departure airport when you scan your boarding pass for the purchase informing you of the restrictions.
You can collect it on your departure from customs, ours was lost.
We did have a good holidayThanks all, think I’ll stick with the gov.uk advice and just run with my annual policy.
That’s a poor show with the Edinburgh alcohol @Ranger43, there’s no reason why they can’t flag that up when scanning your boarding pass, ever since brexit I have been refused duty free prices at 3 different EU airports because I’m flying to Belfast, all after they scanned my boarding pass! Fly to Manchester, Glasgow or Cardiff and you’re fine, but not this part of the UK…Really p1$$es me off…
Thanks all, think I’ll stick with the gov.uk advice and just run with my annual policy.
That’s a poor show with the Edinburgh alcohol @Ranger43, there’s no reason why they can’t flag that up when scanning your boarding pass, ever since brexit I have been refused duty free prices at 3 different EU airports because I’m flying to Belfast, all after they scanned my boarding pass! Fly to Manchester, Glasgow or Cardiff and you’re fine, but not this part of the UK…Really p1$$es me off…
Have a great trip bungalow …. And do report back whether Qatari or British Gov advice is correct
Was there last week, I bought the travel insurance and it was only £10, easier just to buy and not worry about it.
You don’t need a visa coming from the uk, just wait in a queue at border control, get passport stamped and fingerprints taken, easiest border control I’ve had in ages.
You can pay in advance for an evisa, which just means you can use the e gates, but there’s no queue at passport control anyway, so no need.
@tw33ty, did you buy it in advance or when you arrived?
@tw33ty, did you buy it in advance or when you arrived?
I bit the bullet and just purchased, enter name, age, passport details, arrival date, then upload a photo of your passport and pay.
Took 15 minutes, and cost 11 quid each.
Had a brief read: Accident & Emergency cover and Repatriation if you pop your clogs! But no pre existing medical conditions covered. The bulk of it is Covid cover.Do you mean you did it online before you travelled? Which website?
Do you mean you did it online before you travelled? Which website?
Online, I travel out Wednesday.
All the official Qatari sites direct you to MOPH (Ministry of Public Health).
Once there you just choose a random Qatari insurance provider from about 12 options, I chose Qatar General.
Not sure I am allowed to post the link here but here goes…moph (dot) gov (dot) qa/english/derpartments/policyaffairs/hfid/hirs/insurancecompanies/Pages/default.aspx
Thanks! I’ll keep an eye out over the next couple of months and if the requirement doesn’t change will purchase in advance. I thought Rob did an article about it being “quietly dropped” a bit back so I’ll try and find that as well.
Thanks! I’ll keep an eye out over the next couple of months and if the requirement doesn’t change will purchase in advance. I thought Rob did an article about it being “quietly dropped” a bit back so I’ll try and find that as well.
Yeah I think he did, but as tw33ty says above, for the sake of a tenner or so each.
I’m only going for a short break, so will update my travel experience here later in the week.Oh and one more thing. I think I read above you are then flying to Dubai? Well if you haven’t already, consider upgrading to First with avios. I have done it a number of times for sometimes 10,000 avios each, it doesn’t get you a First seat (they don’t do them on local 30/40 minute flights, you get the new business seat) but you get access to the Al Mourjan and the full experience, inc kerbside meet and greet, private personal check in, and the incredible lounge itself! Go up early and spend the evening eating and drinking, cheaper than a meal in Doha!
We’re doing Dubai first, then flying to DOH for 5 nights. But how do you do that with QR? I haven’t seen any options via the app.
I’ve always done it through manage my booking on the website, or call them. You don’t want to do it departing DXB anyway, I don’t think you can access Al Mourjan on arrival. You really need to be flying First departing DOH for the full experience, and those short local flights are by far the best value for that.
A quick update.
Just through business check in Dublin airport, casually asked did I have appropriate health insurance, said yes, didn’t ask to see it.
Will see how it goes when I get to Doha…I flew BA to Doha two weeks ago, no one asked anything at check-in and I went through immigration (visa on arrival) as normal — the rule has definitely been dropped for tourist visits of less than 30 days, per FCO advice.
@iamlost – do you mean the insurance rule has been dropped? If there’s demonstrable evidence of this, we won’t bother getting it, if not, as mentioned above, it’s only £10pp to avoid any potential issues on arrival!
I bought it from QIC online, when I was walking through the terminal at the airport, just before passport/ immigration, there was a QIC stand with a couple of staff members where you could get it.
I was told before I went to Qatar tgat I could buy it at the airport on arrival, but for simplicity, it just bought online before going as may have been tired after a long flight.
I read somewhere too that the requirements for getting it may have been dropped, but I thought for the sake of £11, it was easier to have than not
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