The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has stressed the importance of pre-registration on the platform for people arriving in the country to maintain the continuity of movement operations to and from Qatar while ensuring the safety and security of all, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ministry explained that the platform provided a flexible and practical solution to meet the challenges posed by the pandemic by allowing people to come to Qatar while ensuring adherence to health procedures.
Major Abdullah Al Jassmi from the Airport Passports Department of the Ministry of Interior said the Airport Passports Department seeks to facilitate the entry and exit procedures for travellers through Hamad International Airport, especially in light of the conditions of the pandemic and the permanent update of the travel and return policy for Qatar.
It also always seeks to overcome all difficulties and use the latest electronic methods in cooperation with partners in the Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Airport Administration, Airport Security Department, airlines and other partners.
He added that the platform for those coming to the country allows pre-registration for travelers before arriving at Qatari ports, with the aim of facilitating entry procedures at Abu Samra port and Hamad International Airport.
He said the platform facilitates information for the travellers in an easy and accessible way, and citizens and residents vaccinated within Qatar, will immediately receive a message stating approval without attaching any documents, and the citizen and resident benefit from registering on the platform to know the latest developments in the travel policy system.
Citizens and residents also benefit from registration through the specified path at Hamad International Airport for those registered on the platform and does not need a series of traditional procedures, which facilitates time and effort, as well as they can benefit from the electronic gates service.
Major Abdullah Al Jassmi continued by saying that the father can register all members of his family in one application, and certain paths have been identified for each category of travellers, which are determined according to the category of the traveller from a citizen, resident and visitor, and the classifications also depend on those who are vaccinated or not, in addition to the country of origin.
Regarding visitors, Major Al Jassmi warned that registration is mandatory and not optional, and the visa number, passport number, the type of vaccine, and the date of the last dose or the date of the last infection with COVID-19 if the traveler was infected and recovered, must be filled in.
Attachments, including a copy of the passport, a copy of an approved vaccination certificate, and a photo of the hotel reservation for non-vaccinated people or those coming from high-risk countries must be uploaded. All data must be reviewed in order to ensure its accuracy before sending them.
Major Al Jassmi noted that cases of incomplete response to the request of the visitor are mostly the result of a lack of uploading the required documents such as a passport copy or vaccination certificate or the lack of clarity in the image.
There is a whole team from the Ministry of Public Health working around the clock to communicate with the persons who sent registration requests to inform them of the reasons for the non-approval.
With regard to the hotel quarantine, Major Al Jassmi explained that the platform was linked with “Discover Qatar”. When the traveller book for hotel quarantine and attach the reservation photos, the programme can, through a specific technology, make sure that the hotel reservation was within the approved quarantine hotels, with the aim of facilitating the procedures for the visitor and ensuring that his time and money were not wasted. All of these procedures and the process of responding to a visitor’s request take from 12 hours to a maximum of 24 hours.
He said the platform facilitated many procedures at the airport, whereby the employee can easily know the classification of the country from which the traveller is coming according to the latest updates through the platform, thus speeding up the completion of the procedures.
Major Al Jassmi underlined that the hotel quarantine is a basic requirement for those coming from the red list countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and if the visitor has a first-degree relative in Qatar, the home quarantine will be an alternative to the hotel one, with the rest of the requirements being met.
He indicated that the platform is the best way to approve vaccines for Qatari citizens who have received the vaccine outside the country, because once they register on the platform and attach proof of receiving approved vaccines, the data is entered into the Ministry of Public Health system.
In case of non-registration, the person is obliged to follow a series of procedures, visit a health centre and submit papers in order to approve the vaccination. Also, expatriate work visa holders should register on the platform and attach the approved vaccination certificate, so the platform will specify a two-day hotel quarantine instead of seven.
Major Al Jassmi noted that the pre-registration platform for arrivals to Qatar is concerned with health approval and procedures only, not the legal approval obtained by the visitor to enter Qatar, as the visitor must fulfill the legal requirements of the Law of Entry, Exit and Residence of Expatriates.
Pre-registration very important for people coming to Qatar: MoI
January 13, 2022