In a move to further ease travel restriction, Qatar yesterday announced an automatic exceptional entry permit service for travelers departing and returning to Qatar. These decisions will come into effect starting November 29.

Government Communications Office said in a statement that residents who are currently in Qatar and wish to travel and return will automatically receive an exceptional entry permit upon departure. The resident or their employer will be able to printout the exceptional entry permit from the Ministry of Interior’s website at any point after the resident has departed Qatar. Requests will no longer need to be submitted through the “Qatar Portal” website. The permit will be available automatically upon registration of the resident’s departure from Qatar.

GCO said that the automatic exceptional entry permit service will not be available for residents who are currently outside the State of Qatar. They are still required to obtain the exceptional return permit via the “Qatar Portal” website if they wish to return to the State of Qatar.

According to GCO, the quarantine period will be for one week only after arrival in the country, regardless of destination. The home quarantine will be applied to those coming from countries on the Ministry of Public Health’s Green List. Hotel quarantine is mandatory for those coming from countries that are not included in the Green List. The quarantine period for those who use shared quarantine facilities will be two weeks. The decision is based on national and international epidemiology statistics.

Based on these new procedures, a Coronavirus (Covid-19) test will be conducted for those returning from travel upon arrival to the country in the event they haven’t had a test within 48 hours before traveling to Doha by one of Ministry of Public Health’s accredited COVID-19 Testing Centers. Then a second test will be conducted on the sixth day from the date of arrival. The status on the Ehteraz application remains yellow until the end of the seventh day from the date of arrival.

SOURCE: THEPENINSULAQATAR