New visa rules from May 1st
Qatar has revised the visa-on-arrival scheme, making it mandatory for citizens of a number of countries to obtain a visa before travelling to Doha, foreign diplomats told Gulf Times yesterday.
The new visa regime is expected to come into force on May 1.
A visa is available on arrival to citizens of 33 “affluent” countries but it could not be verified whether the change would affect all the countries on this list.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the embassy that American citizens would need to obtain visas before arriving in Qatar starting on May 1,” consul at the US embassy, Alex Ave-Lallemant, told Gulf Times.
“We will keep Americans informed by updating the Qatar section of the US government’s website for travellers (travel.state.gov) as well as the consular section of the embassy’s website (qatar.usembassy.gov),” he added.
Talk about Qatar adopting a new policy of “reciprocity” has been circulating in recent weeks.
Although many diplomats were unable to confirm whether the new rules would apply to their particular country, reports suggest that the change will apply to all nations who do not offer visas on arrival to Qatari nationals.
Some people here can’t handle the truth and keep defending the hopeless situation, hiding their heads in the sand with the excuse of "bashing".
totally agree Nic, this is the reality and NOT Qatar bashing....
Raven1968,
I don’t want be mean, but that is exactly what I perceived from the very beginning!
And its not about bashing nations for no reason, it’s about discussing reality – the only way to seek improvement!
Nic, never has a truer word been said, logic and common sense are overlooked for greed and lies....welcome to Qatar!!!
Raven1968,
One thing I learned here: logic never applies!
Nic this cracks me up, Qatari nationals can enter NZ (visa on arrival) for up to 3 months. Qatar want reciprocity then why can't kiwis stay for up to 3 months...friggin hipocrits (sorry about the spelling)..LoL
http://www.qatarliving.com/node/978441#comment-1374710
Raven1968,
what else could we expect?
A Great blow now, will not be able to ask all my friends to a stop over..:)
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Can We Fix It?
Yes We Can!
Already a thread on this..:)
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Can We Fix It?
Yes We Can!
here we go again, Qatar shooting itself in the foot.....like tourists are rushing to Qatar anyway, now they make it more difficult for people to enter....what a bunch of muppets.