COVID-19: New travel and return policy announced

IMPACT – MEDIUM

The Qatari government announced that it would categorize countries into Green, Red and Exceptional Red country lists and update its entry requirements on Oct. 6.

Green Countries:

• There are 188 Green Countries, including Australia, China, the U.K. and the U.S. as well as EU and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
• Qatari citizens, GCC citizens and residents who are fully vaccinated will be exempt from the seven-day quarantine but must take a PCR test within 36 hours of arrival.
• Qatari citizens, GCC citizens and residents who are not fully vaccinated must have a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival and quarantine for seven days.
• Visitors, regardless of their vaccination status, must have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival. Fully vaccinated visitors will be exempt from the seven-day quarantine.

Red Countries:

• There are 15 Red Countries, including Egypt, Mongolia, Serbia and Seychelles.

• Qatari citizens, GCC citizens and residents, regardless of their vaccination status, must have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival. Fully vaccinated individuals will be exempt from the seven-day quarantine but must take a PCR test within 36 hours of entering the country.

• Fully vaccinated visitors must have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival, take another PCR test at their quarantine location and quarantine for two days or until they receive negative test results.
• Unvaccinated visitors must have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival and quarantine for seven days.

Exceptional Red Countries:

• There are nine Exceptional Red Countries (High Risk Countries), including India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

• Qatari citizens, GCC citizens and residents who are fully vaccinated must have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival, take another PCR test within 36 hours of arrival at their quarantine location and quarantine for two days or until they receive negative test results.
• Qatari citizens, GCC citizens and residents who are not fully vaccinated must have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival and quarantine for seven days.
• Visitors who are fully vaccinated must have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival, take another PCR test within 36 hours of arrival at their quarantine location and quarantine for two days or until they receive negative test results.
• Visitors who are not fully vaccinated will not be allowed to enter the country.

Additional Information: Travelers must complete the Undertaking and Acknowledgement Form before arriving to Qatar unless they were fully vaccinated in Qatar and coming from a green-list country. Non-resident travelers must complete all pre-registration requirements on this website at least three days before arrival. More information on Qatar’s entry requirements can be found here.

BAL Analysis: The response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop, and BAL will provide additional updates as information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global practice. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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