Qatar updates its travel-and-return policy

Qatar updated its travel-and-return policy on Sunday, essentially splits countries into three categories instead of the current four- Green, Red and Exceptional Red- based on COVID-19 risk assessment.

The purpose of these changes is to ease the process of travel and return to the State of Qatar in light of the noticeable decrease in COVID-19 positive cases in recent times, with full commitment to prevention measures.

The Ministry of Public Health stated that the Travel and Return Policy has been a key measure in the country's strategy against COVID-19 and enforcing a strict policy has played a significant role in maintaining Qatar’s consistently low rates of COVID-19 infection.

The new policy will come into force on Wednesday (October 16), expands the Green list to include 188 countries and whittles down the Red to just 15.

The yellow list has been done away with.

Currently, the Green list has 21 countries on it, the Red 153 and the Yellow 33.

From Wednesday, most of those countries will turn Green, exempting fully-vaccinated Qataris and residents travelling from those destinations from pre-travel PCR tests. Instead, they will be required to do the PCR test within 36 hours of arrival.

For new travel and return policies, check---
www.covid19.moph.gov.qa/EN/travel-and-return-policy/Pages/default.aspx