Pre-arrival registration 'optional' for citizens and residents: MoPH

The pre-registration requirement on Ehteraz is now only only mandatory for visitors to Qatar who do not have a QID.

Pre-registration on the Ehteraz website before landing back in Qatar is now optional for all citizens and residents of Qatar but remains mandatory for visitors, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) announced on Tuesday.

To ease the precautionary measures previously announced for those entering #Qatar, MOPH announced that registration on Ehteraz Platform is now optional for citizens and residents, while registration and obtaining prior approval remains mandatory for visitors. pic.twitter.com/r1ZTi0jeJP

— وزارة الصحة العامة (@MOPHQatar) July 13, 2021

Speaking to Qatar TV, Hamad General Hospital medical director, Dr. Yousef al-Maslamani, said the aim of activating pre-registration through Ehteraz is to ease procedures for arrivals into the country.

The pre-registration allows passengers to upload all required documents, such as vaccination certificates, PCR test results and other relevant data directly on the platform to avoid hassle and long queues at the airport.

QID holders who choose to upload the relevant information on Ehteraz can head directly to immigration counters and save time on arrival.

The official said authorities are also working to link Ehteraz with e-gates.

Earlier, the ministry had announced that returning travellers and visitors from all ports will now to pre-register on the Ehteraz website before arriving in the country.

The revised decision exempts Qataris and residents after some faced difficulties in the registration process.

Upon submitting all the documents, the website will show the status of the application and will either give the green light for travellers to safely land in the country or inform the applicant if any other procedures are required.

Visitors arriving through air, land or sea borders are obligated to apply between 12 to 72 hours before their arrival time.

Visitors and QID holders who opt to pre-register will need to create an account and enter health information that includes negative PCR test results and hotel quarantine reservations for unvaccinated individuals.

The service also determines whether the traveller is required to quarantine or is exempted prior to landing.

All users must provide the type of Covid-19 vaccine they have received and the date of the last dose, in addition to the date of the last infection for those who recovered previously from the virus.

PCR tests are still mandatory for all travellers arriving into the country, including Qataris and expatriate residents.

Opening borders

Last week, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior [MOI] announced family and visitor visas will be reinstated from 12 July after a long wait due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The latest move is part of an updated travel policy by Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health [MOPH] which outlines details for quarantine regulations for travellers based on countries they are coming from, all of which fall under three categories: green, yellow and red.

Per the latest policies, fully vaccinated citizens and residents [QID holder] are exempted from quarantining, only if 14 days have passed since the completion of their required Covid-19 doses. These must be one of the vaccines approved by Qatar’s MOPH.

The same exemption applies to citizens and residents who have recovered from a previous Covid-19 infection in Qatar over the past 12 months, only if they were asymptomatic and their PCR result is negative.

Children aged 0-17 will follow the same policies as their parents, while unvaccinated minors aged 0-17 are subject to home quarantine for seven days, according to an updated amendment from the MOPH on Friday.

Both vaccinated and non-vaccinated travellers are required to present a negative PCR test that is valid within 72 hours prior to their arrival from approved health centres from the countries they are coming from.

As for visitors who do not hold the QID, entry without quarantining is restricted to those who have recovered or are fully vaccinated with vaccines approved by Qatar’s MOPH.

This also applies to GCC citizens, though the validity of the quarantine exemption for those who are vaccinated is 12 months starting from the 14th day since the completion of their vaccination.

All non-QID holders will also be subject to a PCR test on arrival and exempted from quarantine if antibodies are found. If the exemption requirements are non applicable, they must quarantine based on the classification of the country of departure.

Travellers must also provide an official vaccination certificate with a valid QR Code that includes their name, vaccination dates depending on the doses, type of vaccine, vaccine lot number and official logo and stamp of the vaccination authority.

Recovered individuals must also provide a certificate of recovery with a valid QR code.

Children (aged 0-11) of non-QID holders will also follow the same entry rules as their parents. If the latter is vaccinated, the children will also be considered vaccinated.

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