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Hamad International Airport
It will be at least a few more months before visitors who stop over in Qatar can get free four-day transit visas, officials have clarified.
And once the scheme is in place, only Qatar Airways passengers will be eligible for the visas, the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) said.
In response to questions from Doha News this week, a spokesperson said:
“The new transit visa scheme is in the process of being put into effect. Once in place, transit visas will be available to Qatar Airways passengers of all nationalities, free of charge.”
QTA announced the new visa plan last month.
Fadi Benne
Photo for illustrative purposes only.
At the time, officials said that transit passengers with layovers of more than five hours could obtain the visas at the airport’s Arrivals immigration desk by showing proof of their onward journey.
But since then, many visitors have complained that they couldn’t obtain these visas after flying into Hamad International Airport (HIA).
New plan
Once the scheme does take effect, many transit passengers will no longer need to apply for an entry visa ahead of time.
Additionally, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said that the airline is working to reduce the current high fares for booking stopovers in Doha:
“Whether traveling for business or leisure, we want to enrich the journey of all of our passengers and are restructuring our fares to reflect this initiative and to promote stopovers to travelers.”
However, both QTA and Qatar Airways this week refrained from saying when the new visa system would take effect.
QTA told Doha News that for now, passengers should apply for a tourist visa in advance through Qatar Airways before they travel.
But if they are on the list below, visitors can pay QR100 to get a visa on arrival at HIA.
QTA
Who’s eligible for visa on arrival in Qatar
All passengers with connecting flights within 24 hours of arrival will need to proceed to HIA’s transfer desk after arriving in Doha, officials added.
Thoughts?
(The post New four-day transit visas for Qatar visitors still ‘in process’ is from Doha News.)