How to apply for a tourist - visit visa in Qatar

This post is based on my own experience of applying a tourist visit visa for my brother who is still a MINOR and currently based in Kuwait. Visa regulations in Qatar may change from time to time and what's written here may be superseded by new regulations. Information on different types of visa to Qatar is available in MOI website. This post is only meant to share an experience and not a step by step guide for visa application.

Requirements for Application:

Sponsor
photocopy of sponsor's passport
photocopy of sponsor's resident permit
photocopy of sponsor's birth certificate, if the visitor is parent or sibling
photocopy of sponsor's marriage contract, if the sponsor is a married female

Update as of November 10, 2008:
Again, I applied a tourist visit visa for my brother and in addition to the above requirements, I was requried to submit a photocopy of of my husband's passport and Resident Permit and Qatar ID. I'm guessing this is because my visa is sponsored by my husband. Now, I'm not sure if there's any additional requirements if the sponsor is holding a work/resident permit.

Visitor
photocopy of visitor's passport
photocopy of visitor's birth certificate if visitor is child or sibling of sponsor
photocopy of visitor's marriage contract, if visitor is a married female

*Original NSO-certified documents of the sponsor must be available for verifcation. No need to be certified by the Philippine Embassy. The birth and marriage certificates is required to establish the relationship between the sponsor and the visitor. While not required, I still provided a salary letter and no-objection-certificate (NOC) to the Immigration.

Application Process:

1. Go to the Immigration Office in the Airport. The best time to go is early in the morning. It is open starting 6 AM.

2. Fill out the application form. The form is already translated in English and English answers are acceptable.

3. Fall in line for approval. Female cutting the line are normally tolerated.

4. The Immigration Officer can approve, deny, require more information or documents or sometimes applicants are asked to seek the approval of the Captain.

5. If approved, pay at the cashier. Note that cash are not accepted. Use a debit or credit card. The cashier will issue a receipt with the visa number. The visa may be downloaded from the MOI website. If more additional information is required, complete the requirements and get approval. If the application is denied, better luck next time. Sometimes, the applicant is informed of the reason for denial.

Definition of immediate relative:

Immediate relative means mother, father, wife and children. Brothers and sisters are also considered immediate relative; however, from previous experience of some people, visa sporsorship for siblings are difficult to obtain although visa sponsorship for a sister may have a good chance of approval than visa sponsorship for a brother especially those 18 years old and above.

Validity of tourist visit visa:

A tourist-visit visa is essentially a tourist visa. It is valid for 14 days and may be extended for another 14 days. If the visitor intends to stay longer than 28 days, family visit visa, which can be extended up to six months should be applied. However, the requirements may be different.

Visa Fee:

QR 100 upon application (as of Nov. 10, 2008)
QR 200 for the 14-day extension

Possible Reasons for Denial or Delay in Processing:

While waiting in line, I overheard some of the reasons for visa denial/ delay in processing.

- One guy is applying visa for daughter-in-law and grandchildren who live in Abu Dhabi with his son. The application was denied because the SON is NOT going to Doha.

- One Filipina appying visa for her niece. A NIECE is NOT an immediate relative.

- One guy applying visa for his son and for some reason, in their country, father and son have different surname - I think the father's name, becomes the son's surname. He was asked to go to the Captain for the application approval.

- I was asked to present my marriage contract to cross-check my maiden name with my brother's name. Marriage contract is being required for female sponsors who are married.

Other Requirements:

If the visitor is coming from the Philippines,. the visa has to be authenticated by the Qatar Embassy in Manila. Authentication are now done through courier (current as of October 2008 - please call the Qatar Embassy in Manila for further info).

Requirements for visa authentication:

-Affidavit of Support from the sposor authenticated by Philipiine Embassy in Doha. NOC letter is required for affidafit of support.

-Must pass medical examination from accredited medical centers of Qatar Embassy in Manila. (As of October 2008 - medical examination is not required anymore for tourists, business and visit visa holders)

I cannot much give much info on this as I did not undergo this process. Please contact Qatar Embassy in Manila for futher information. Check DFA website for Qatar Embassy address and contact number.

Please note:

The above experience is only for tourist-visit visa sponsored by immediate relative.