Residents of, and expatriates living in, other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) can enter Qatar without a sponsor or visa, but it’s still prudent to check this before coming. A 14-day visa will cost QR12O.

UK citizens can get a visa at a Qatari embassy/consulate without a sponsor. Amen-cans can obtain a visa at a Qatari embassy/ consulate, but still need a confirmed hotel reservation (but no sponsor). Almost all other nationalities need a sponsor from within Qatar — and for most, this means arranging a hotel to sponsor you.

From an Embassy If you can get a visa at a Qatari embassy/consulate, you must fill out three forms and provide three passport sized photos. Anyone requesting a business visa may be asked to supply a letter of introduction from the company they will be visiting. Visas will normally take about one week to process.

From a Hotel Most tourists will need to be sponsored by a hotel, and only mid-range and top-end places are permitted to act as sponsors. The following hotels sponsor visas, and charge a fee of between QR5O and QR100 (in addition to the official government fee): the Ramada Hotel, Sofitel Doha Palace, Gulf Sheraton, Doha Sheraton, New Capital Hotel, Doha Palace Hotel (which promises to arrange visas in three working days), and the Oasis Hotel.

Contact one of these hotels (preferably by fax or email), book a room and then request sponsorship. Send them your passport details, reason for visit, arrival and departure dates, and flight numbers. Legally speaking, the hotel ‘controls’ your visa and stay, so it’s almost impossible to change hotels after you arrive.

The hotel must send you a letter or -fax (email probably won’t be accepted by the immigration authorities) acknowledging your reservation, and quoting a visa number. Give this letter/fax to the immigration counter at Doha International Airport, and you should be issued a visa for the length of your stay (maximum of 14 days). The official government visa fee, and the fee for arranging the sponsorship, will probably be added to your hotel bill. Allow at least six working days, bearing in mind that nothing will get done on Thursday afternoons and Friday.

Visa Extensions Tourist visas can be extended for an additional 14 days, and business visas for seven days. The charges for overstaying are very high: between QR200 and QR500 per day for any type of visa. If you were originally sponsored by a hotel, the hotel must arrange your visa extension, which will cost QR300, plus whatever fee the hotel charges for this service. If you obtained your visa through a Qatari embassy/consulate, go to the Department for Passports, Nationality & Residence in Doha

(tel 882 882).

No other special permits are required for travelling to, or around, Qatar. Visitors who

are staying less than a week can rent a car using their licence from home, ie, without an International Driving Permit. Refer to Car & Motorcycle in the Getting Around section later in this chapter.

Student, youth and senior cards are of little, if any, use.

The addresses of some Qatari embassies and consulates around the world are listed below. (NB: There is no Qatari embassy in Bahrain.)

France

Embassy: (tel 01-45 51 90 71) 57 Quai D’Orsay, 75007, Paris

Germany

Embassy: (tel 228-957 520) Brunnen alle 6, 53177 Bonn

Kuwait

Embassy: (tel 965-251 3606, fax 251 3604) Istiglal St, Diplomatic Area, south of the centre off Arabian Gulf St, Kuwait City

Oman

Embassy: (tel 691152, fax 691156) Jameat ad-Duwal al-Arabiyya St, Al-Khuwair

Saudi Arabia

Embassy: (tel 966-1-482 5544) Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh

UAE

Embassy: (tel 971-2-435 900) Al-Muntasser St,

Abu Dhabi

Consulate-General: (tel 971-4-452 888) Trade Centre Rd, Al-Mankook District, Bur Dubai, near the Bur Juman Centre

UK

Embassy: (tel 020-7370 6871; visa info tel 0891-633 233)

1 South Audley St, London, W1Y 5DQ

USA

Embassy: (tel 202-274 1600; fax 237-0061) 4200 Wisconsin Aye, NW, Suite 200,

Washington DC 20016

Consulate: (tel 212-486 9355) 747 3rd Aye, 22nd floor, New York, NY 10017

Most embassies in Doha are located in the Diplomatic Area, north of the Doha Sheraton

- none of these buildings have specific addresses, so the best idea is to charter a taxi. All embassies are open from about 8 am to 3 pm, Saturday to Wednesday. (NB: There is no Bahraini embassy in Qatar.)

France (tel 832 283, fax 832 254) Diplomatic Area

Germany (tel 876 959, fax 876 949) Al-Jazira aI-Arabiya St

Kuwait (tel 832 111, fax 832 042) Diplomatic Area

Oman (tel 670 744, fax 670 747) 41 Ibn al-Qassem St. Villa 7, Hilal district

Saudi Arabia (tel 832 722, fax 832 720) Diplomatic Area

UAE (tel 885 111, fax 882 837) off Al-Khor St, Khalifa Town district

UK (tel 421 991, fax 438 692) Al-Istiqlal St, Rumailiah district

USA (tel 864 701, fax 861 669) 149 Ahmed bin Ali St

Yemen (tel 432 555, fax 429 400) near the AlSadd roundabout, Al-Jazira district

Customs procedures can be slow at the Doha International Airport, but they are rarely intrusive. No alcohol or pork products can be brought into Qatar. Books, photographs and, especially, videos often come in for careful scrutiny and may be confiscated for further investigation. Duty-free allowances are: 800 cigarettes, 100 cigars or 500g of tobacco; and 250ml of perfume.

The Qatari riyal (QR) is divided into 100 dirhams. Notes come in QR1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 denominations. Dirham coins no longer exist, though some prices are still quoted in dirhams. If you’re charged, for example, QR1.25 for a (soft) drink, the amount will be rounded down to QR1; something costing QR1.5, for example, is rounded up to QR2.

The Qatari riyal is fully convertible so there’s no black market or exchange controls. Many shops also accept Saudi riyals at par for small transactions.

The Qatari riyal is fixed against the US dollar. The other exchange rates for the major currencies are:

country unit riyal
Australia A$l = QR2.32
Canada C$1 = QR2.42
euro €1 = QR0.6l
France 1FF = QR0.54
Germany DM1 = QR2.09
Japan Yl00 = QR2.99
New Zealand NZ$1 = QR1.99
UK UK£l = QR5.86
USA US$1 = QR3.65

Most major currencies (cash and travelers cheques) can be changed into Qatari riyals, though UK pounds and US dollars are the easiest to exchange. Moneychangers will offer a slightly better rate than the banks. The difference is not worth worrying about unless you’re changing a large amount. The top-end hotels offer about US$1 = QR3.50. Currencies from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are easy to buy and sell at banks and moneychangers.

Credit Cards All major credit cards are accepted in large shops, upmarket restaurants, mid-range and top-end hotels and most travel agencies, and many can be used in automatic teller machines (ATMs). The Commercial Bank of Qatar accepts American Express, Diner’s Club, and credit cards on the Cirrus system. British Bank of the Middle East and Qatar National Bank’s ATMs also accept Cirrus-system cards. (Check the back of your Visa or MasterCard for the Cirrus logo.) There are also ATMs at the airport, some top-end hotels and upmarket shopping centres — refer to Money in the Doha section later in this chapter for details.

Food is inexpensive. In a cheap Indian/Pakistani eatery; meals cost about QR1O. Western fast food costs about QR15; and tastier meals in a comfortable restaurant, at least QR2O. Cheap beds are almost impossible to find because most visitors must be sponsored by a mid-range or top-end hotel. The cheapest place that will sponsor visas costs QR125/150 for singles/doubles; a top-end place can cost five to ten times more.