Discover Qatar, the online portal, authorized by Qatar Government to offer hotel quarantine packages for those who are travelling to Qatar during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, has previously announced that only QID holders from selected “low risk” countries will be permitted to travel from 1 August, and pre-authorisation to enter Qatar will be required for all QID holders. It has added that further details and a list of approved “low risk” countries will be provided when available.

Today, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has recently released the list of 40 countries classified "low risk" of coronavirus (COVID-19) in its official website. However, there are clarifications raised by people if countries that are not included in the list of low-risk countries are allowed to enter Qatar starting August 1.

There is no current full list of countries provided to enter Qatar in Phase 3, however, according to the statement of Government Communications Office:

• Arrivals from countries that are not included in the list of low-risk countries, and in which COVID-19 testing centres have been accredited, are required to obtain a virus-free certificate from there no more than 48 hours before travelling. The arrivals must also adhere to the home quarantine for a week upon arrival in Doha while also following the policy and conditions applied to arrivals from the low-risk countries mentioned below.

• Arrivals from other countries that are not included in the list of low-risk countries and in which there are no accredited COVID-19 testing centres will be required to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense for one week, provided that hotel accommodation is booked through the “Discover Qatar“ website before arriving in the State of Qatar. After the week has elapsed, the ending of the quarantine period will depend on the result of a COVID-19 test. If the result is positive, the traveller will be transferred to isolation, and if it is negative, the person will commit to home quarantine for another week, in which case the status on the Ehteraz application will be yellow and will then change to green after the week has passed.

• Residents will be allowed to return to the State of Qatar starting the first of August 2020. Residents’ entry will be organised based on a series of priorities, including public health indicators, the nature of the needs of the various government and semi-government sectors and humanitarian cases, and through submitting return requests for permits via the “Qatar Portal” website based on the above-mentioned priorities.

​The employer shall bear the costs of the quarantine in the dedicated facilities for blue collar workers in the private sector and domestic workers at a nominal cost after obtaining the entry permit.

The countries classified "low risk" of coronavirus are:

AFRICA

1. ​Morocco
2. ​Algeria 
3. Canada

AMERICA

1. ​Canada

ASIA

1. ​Brunei Darussalam
2. ​Vietnam​
3. ​China
4. ​Thailand​
5. ​Malaysia 
6. ​South_Korea 
7. ​Japan
8. ​Turkey ​

EUROPE

1. ​Malta 
2. ​Finland
3. ​Hungary
4. ​Estonia
5. ​Norway
6. ​Lithuania
7. ​Latvia 
8. ​Cyprus
9. ​Ireland
10. ​Greece
11. ​Italy 
12. ​Slovakia
13. ​Denmark
14. ​Netherlands
15. ​Germany
16. ​Poland
17. ​France
18. ​Slovenia 
19. ​Belgium
20. ​United Kingdom
21. ​Czechia 
22. ​Austria
23. ​Switzerland
24. ​Iceland
25. ​Spain
26. ​Croatia

OCENIA

1. ​New Zealand
2. ​Australia 
3. ​Andorra​

• Arrivals to the State of Qatar from low-risk countries are required to:

- Take a Coronavirus test upon arrival at the airport

- Sign a formal pledge to adhere to quarantine at home for a week, noting that the traveller’s status on the Ehteraz application will be yellow, which means that they are required to quarantine.

After the week has elapsed, the traveller must go to one of the dedicated health centres to get another Coronavirus test. If the result is positive, the traveller will be transferred to isolation, and if it is negative, the quarantine period ends at the end of that week and the traveller’s status on the Ehteraz application will change to green.

It should be noted that the list of low-risk countries will be published on the Ministry of Public Health’s website and announced by the Civil Aviation Authority. The list of low-risk countries will be reviewed every two weeks.

If there are accredited COVID-19 testing centres in one of these low-risk countries, obtaining a COVID-free certificate from one of these centres exempts the traveller from taking the test at the airport upon arrival in the country, provided that the date of obtaining the certificate does not exceed 48 hours before traveling.