*Pre-registration portal also for Abu Samra Land Border
*Portal does not cover legal requirements for entry to Qatar
Implemented since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the portal is a flexible and
| (image) Major Abdullah al-Jasmi |
practical solution that helps travellers by ensuring adherence to health procedures, explained Major Abdullah al-Jasmi, head of the Administrative Affairs Section at the Airport Passports Department and a member of the Quarantine Unit.
The Airport Passports Department uses the latest electronic methods in co-operation with partners such as the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), HIA administration, Airport Security Department, airlines and other partners. The pre-registration portal also caters to arrivals at Abu Samra Land Border of Qatar.
Registration is done on the website by creating a new user and entering the required data and then clicking on register. Applicants can sign in to the platform by entering the e-mail, password, and verification code, then pressing Enter and choosing “submit a new application” and filling in the required data.
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The health data of citizens and residents is available at the MoPH. Once the personal number is registered, the person’s status appears in terms of vaccinations or cases of Covid-19 and recovery. After submitting the application, the traveller will be able to follow up and know the status of his application for approval of any other procedures required to obtain approval. Applicants can register on the platform through the Ehteraz application or the platform’s website.
"Applicants including citizens and residents vaccinated within Qatar will immediately receive a message stating the approval without attaching any documents," Maj al-Jasmi said.
The head of the family can register all his family members in one application. Certain paths have been defined for each class of travellers, which are determined according to the category of citizen, resident and visitor, and those who meet the conditions of the vaccine or not, in addition to the country of arrival. All of these classifications regulate the correct path for each type of traveller.
Visitors
For visitors, registration is mandatory. The visitor must enter the visa number, passport number, type of vaccine, the date of the last dose or the date of the last infection with Covid-19 (if infected and recovered). He/she has to upload the attachments, including a copy of the passport, a copy of a certificate of vaccination, copy of the hotel quarantine for those who are not vaccinated or coming from the high risk countries.
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Regarding the failure to get approval, Maj al-Jasmi said, in such cases the visitors do not upload the required documents, such as a copy of the passport or vaccination certificate, or the lack of clarity in the image. There is a full team from the MoPH working around the clock, communicating with the people who apply for registration to inform them of the reasons for non-approval, including the lack of clarity in the images of the documents and absence of the QR code.
"Regarding the hotel quarantine, some travellers book a tourist hotel that was not on the list of approved quarantine hotels. In order to avoid this, the platform was linked to Discover Qatar. When the traveller makes a reservation for the quarantine hotel and attaches the reservation photos, the registration portal, through a specific technology, ensure the hotel reservation is with an approved quarantine hotel, to ensure time and money are not wasted. All these procedures and the process of responding to the visitor’s application does not take more than 12 - 24 hours maximum."
Citizens of the GCC countries
Maj al-Jasmi indicated that hotel quarantine is a basic requirement for those coming from the red list GCC countries. If the visitor has a first-degree relative in Qatar, the home quarantine can be enough, provided that the rest of the requirements are met.
Some modifications have been made to the portal, including not requiring all travellers to upload a Covid-19 test certificate, because airlines are tasked to ensure that the traveller has the document.
The portal is also the best way to approve vaccines for Qatari citizens who have received the vaccine outside the country, because once registration is done on the portal and proof of receiving approved vaccines attached, the data is entered into the MoPH system.
If not registered, the person is obliged to follow a series of procedures, visit a health centre and submit papers in order to approve the vaccination. The holders of work visas who are vaccinated and did not register will need to book a hotel quarantine for seven days. If they register on the portal and attach the approved vaccination certificate, the platform will specify that the hotel quarantine is for two days, not seven days.
Maj al-Jasmi confirmed that the pre-registration platform for those coming to Qatar is concerned with approval and health procedures only. The approval obtained by the traveller through the platform does not mean legal approval to enter Qatar. The traveller must meet the requirements of the law on entry and exit of expatriates and their residence. For example, the platform does not look into the validity of the passport and whether the validity of the passport is less than or more than three months, nor does it consider whether the resident has exceeded six months outside the country or not. Therefore, the traveller must meet the legal requirements as well.