Permanent Residency in Qatar: Eligibility, Cost, Application, and the Property Route
Permanent residency in Qatar is permission under Law No. 10 of 2018 on Permanent Residence, granted through a Permanent Residence Card, with a Permanent Residence Card Granting Committee at the Ministry of Interior. The card is given to eligible categories, for the holder and family members under the age of 18 years. If you have lived in Qatar for a long time on a legal residence permit and you want to know whether you can apply, start with the eligibility conditions. The Ministry of Interior page states four conditions: residence time, enough income, good behaviour, and enough knowledge of Arabic. The fee stated in the Ministry FAQ is QR3000, not refundable, and it includes all members of the family. The application is submitted on the Ministry of Interior website, with a smart ID card and a smart card reader. A separate property route, through the Ministry of Justice, gives a real estate residence permit at two property value thresholds, and it is not the same application as the Permanent Residence Card. This guide covers the conditions, the exemptions, the privileges, the website steps, the fee, the tracking route, and the property route, and it states plainly where the official pages gave no duration and no presence rule, and that no document list is stated for the Permanent Residence Card application (the documents are determined by the competent committee).
Who qualifies: residence time, income, conduct, and Arabic
The Ministry of Interior Permanent Residency page states the terms and conditions to obtain a permanent residency permit in accordance with Law No. 10 of the year 2018. The four conditions are:
- The applicant should complete 20 years in Qatar on a legal residence permit if he or she is born abroad, and 10 years if born in Qatar.
- He or she should have enough income to cover expenditures of him and his family.
- He or she should be of good behaviour and reputation, and should not have been convicted of a final verdict on any dishonorable offence inside Qatar or abroad.
- He or she should have enough knowledge of the Arabic language.
Read the 20 year and 10 year figures as eligibility durations only. They state how long the applicant must have completed in Qatar on a legal residence permit. They are not a statement of how long a card lasts. No permit validity duration is stated on the official pages cited here, and this guide states none. Do not read the 20 and 10 figures as a 10 year or 5 year permit, because no official page uses that wording for a permit, and the 20 and 10 figures are residence conditions, not validity periods.
If you are asking how much income you need, the official pages cited here state no income figure. The terms page states only that the applicant should have enough income to cover the expenditures of the applicant and the family. The FAQ on the same Ministry site repeats the income condition with the wording that the income minimum is as determined by a Council of Ministers decision on the minimum value, with exceptions. Still, no figure is stated. Do not use a competitor income figure for this application, because no figure is verified on an official page. Check the live Ministry page and the Council decision it refers to, if that decision is published, before you rely on any number.
On conduct, the FAQ repeats the condition with one added phrase: the applicant should not have been previously convicted of a dishonorable offence unless rehabilitated. That phrase is recorded here as FAQ wording. No other conduct rule is added, because no other conduct rule is stated on the pages cited here.
Who is exempt from the conditions
The Ministry of Interior page lists six groups as exempted from the conditions and requirements. The six groups are:
- Children of a Qatari woman married to a non-Qatari.
- The non-Qatari husband of a Qatari woman.
- The non-Qatari wife of a Qatari.
- Children of a Qatari by naturalization.
- Those who performed great services to the state.
- Persons with special capabilities that the state needs.
If you belong to one of these groups, do not assume the exemption removes every step. The page lists the groups as exempted from the conditions and requirements, and it still describes a committee process and an application route. Check the live Ministry page for how your group is handled in the application, because the page gives no separate application procedure for exempted groups.
The FAQ defines the last group in its answer to question 7. Special competencies are the technical, scientific, or administrative professions required by the State. That definition is the FAQ answer for the special capabilities category. It is stated here only as that definition, and no list of professions is added, because no list is stated on the pages cited here.
What the card gives you, and the yearly cap
The Ministry of Interior page states that Law No. 10 of 2018 establishes a Permanent Residence Card Granting Committee at the Ministry of Interior, formed by a Council of Ministers decision. The committee carries out the procedures for granting the card, decides on the requirements for eligible categories, and submits its recommendations to the Minister of Interior, who issues the decision on the applications referred to it. It may communicate with relevant parties inside or outside the Ministry of Interior.
The Qatar Embassy in Islamabad news item (5 September 2018), reporting the law, states that permission for permanent residence will not be issued for more than 100 persons per year, and that the number may be increased with the approval of the Emir on the proposal of the Minister of Interior. That cap is stated on the embassy page. Whether the cap has been increased is not stated here, because no official page cited here states an increase.
The privileges of the card, under Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 as listed on the Ministry page, are:
- Entry into and exit from the State during the period of validity without obtaining permission or authorization.
- Access to treatment and education in government institutions within the State, in accordance with the conditions and controls issued by a decision of the Council of Ministers.
- The spouse of the holder of the Permanent Residence Card and his or her children until the age of 18 years shall enjoy the privileges granted to the holder in residence, health, and education.
- Investment in the activities of the sectors of the national economy, which shall be determined by a decision of the Council of Ministers, without a Qatari partner, provided that the company is established in accordance with the provisions of the law governing commercial companies.
- Ownership of real estate for housing and investment in the areas specified, in accordance with the conditions and controls to be determined by a decision of the Council of Ministers.
If you are asking whether the card lets you leave and return without permission, the answer on the pages cited here is yes, during the period of validity, without obtaining permission or authorization. The pages state that qualification, and they state no validity length. Do not fill in a length from the eligibility durations in the previous section, because those durations answer a different question.
The embassy news item reports that on 3 September 2018 the Emir issued Law No. 10 of 2018. The Ministry FAQ, in its first answer, states that the law was issued on 4 September 2018. Both dates are recorded here as shown on their own pages, and they are not reconciled here. The embassy page also states that the application fee, card provision, and tenure determination are issued by the Minister of Interior. That wording is recorded here, and no tenure length is stated, because no length is stated on the pages cited here.
How to submit the application on the MOI website
The Ministry of Interior page states two requirements before the steps begin. The applicant must have a smart ID card with activation of the e-services on it. The applicant must have a smart card reader device. Connect the smart card reader to the computer to complete the application process.
The steps on the page are:
- Access the website of the Ministry of Interior.
- Select the link for electronic services.
- Select Residence Service and choose Permanent Residence Card.
- After clicking on it, the service options screen will appear. A new application window should be selected.
- Select the appropriate category for the options available, then click Next.
- A list of qualified people will appear. Select persons by checking the box next to the person’s ID number, then click Next.
- You will receive a text message stating that your application for permanent residence has been received. A receipt will be given in the payment process, and the applicant can print or save the receipt on the computer.
- The first stage is now complete. Wait until another message is received to upload the attachments.
- When the message to upload the required documents is received, enter the website again in the same manner as the first time, and upload the required documents according to the ID number. The documents are determined by the competent committee.
- After completing the process of attaching documents for the applicant, another screen will appear to attach the documents of the remaining ID numbers attached to the application. The second phase is now complete.
- The applicant can follow up the application through the follow-up option.
If you are asking what documents to upload, the answer on the pages cited here is that the documents are determined by the competent committee, and no document list is stated. The FAQ states, in its answer to question 4, that the applicant will receive text messages via Metrash2 and will be requested to attach the required documents to the application. The Metrash2 wording is stale, and the answer states no document list. Do not prepare a document set from a competitor list, because the committee determines the documents, and the message you receive is the request to attach them. Wait for that message, and upload the documents it requests, by ID number, in the second phase described above.
The FAQ also states, in its answer to question 8, that in the first stage the submission is open only through the website of the Ministry, and later the application will be through Metrash2 and the website of the Ministry together. That is future wording in the FAQ, with the stale Metrash2 name. It gives no steps in the current Metrash app, and this guide gives no app steps for this application. The first stage described above is the website route.
The fee, and what happens after final approval
The FAQ states the fee in its answer to question 3: The fee is QR 3000, not refundable. It includes all members of the family. The fees should be paid by debit or credit cards. Do not split it into a per-person fee, because the FAQ states that it includes all members of the family.
The FAQ states, in its answer to question 5, that the applicant who got final approval must pay its fees of QR 3000. No payment location is stated in that answer, and no payment location is stated elsewhere on the pages cited here. No payment location is therefore stated here. Do not assume a payment office or a payment screen from the receipt wording in the application steps, because the steps text mentions a receipt in the payment process, and the FAQ separately places the QR3000 payment after final approval. Both wordings are recorded as shown, and they are not merged here into one payment timing.
The contact email stated on the Ministry Permanent Residency page is info@moi.gov.qa. No processing time is stated on the pages cited here, and none is stated here. If timing matters for your plans, check the live Ministry page on the day you apply, rather than relying on a processing time stated elsewhere.
How to track your application, and how the eligibility inquiry differs
Tracking and eligibility inquiry are two different routes on the Ministry site, and this guide keeps them separate.
To track an application, the FAQ states, in its answer to question 6, that the applicant can track the application online via the Ministry of Interior website, by clicking on the option of inquiries, then residence services, then permanent residence, and then application tracking. Use that route for an application you have already submitted.
The eligibility inquiry is a separate form. Its page is headed Permanent Residency Eligibility Inquiry, and it asks for the QID Number, the Residency Expiry Date, and a verification code, with Submit and Reset buttons. The form asks for QID number, residency expiry date, and a verification code. The form is an eligibility inquiry, not the application tracking route. Do not use the eligibility inquiry form to track a submitted application, and do not use the tracking route as a substitute for an eligibility check. The two routes serve different purposes, as stated on their own pages: the form is an eligibility inquiry, and the tracking route is for an application already submitted.
The property route: real estate residency approval from the Ministry of Justice
The property route is a separate service from the Permanent Residence Card application above. The Ministry of Justice page is headed Obtaining Approval for Real Estate Residency. It states that the service aims to submit an application for approval of real estate residency for non-Qataris in designated areas, for individual clients. Do not present this route as the same application as the Permanent Residence Card route, because the pages describe different services, different authorities, and different outcomes.
The requirements on the Ministry of Justice page are:
- The property must be located in freehold areas or usufruct areas.
- The property value must exceed QAR 730,000 to obtain a real estate residence permit, or exceed QAR 3,650,000 to obtain a real estate residence permit with additional benefits such as healthcare, education, and investment.
The word on the page is exceed, not at least. The value must be above the figure, not equal to it. At the lower figure, the outcome stated is a real estate residence permit. At the higher figure, the outcome stated is a real estate residence permit with the additional benefits listed. This guide does not call either outcome a Permanent Residence Card, because the Ministry of Justice page does not use that name for this service.
The required documents on the Ministry of Justice page are:
- Qatari ID card or passport.
- Copy of the original title deed.
- Certificate of good conduct for non-residents in Qatar.
The service fees on the Ministry of Justice page are stated as: Exempt from Fees. The Sharek government catalogue listing for the same service states the fees as Free. Both wordings are recorded as shown. The estimated time on the Ministry of Justice page is stated as 15 minutes, under the heading Estimated Time to Complete the Service. The Sharek listing states an estimated service delivery time of 2 Days and 48 Minutes. Those are two different measures, with two different labels, on two different pages. This guide records both as shown, flags the difference, and does not reconcile them into one time. Do not treat the 15 minutes as a delivery time, and do not treat the 2 Days and 48 Minutes as the time to complete the form, because each page labels its own measure differently.
The contact information on the Ministry of Justice page is hotline 137, email info@moj.gov.qa, and the Ministry’s Whatsapp. The Sharek listing adds the Government Contact Line 109, the Office of Non-Qatari Property Ownership on 40216669, and the email nqo@moj.gov.qa. The Sharek contacts are attributed to the Sharek listing, and the Ministry contacts are attributed to the Ministry page.
The Ministry of Justice page shows only a Submitting the application button. No steps, fields, or status-check route from that destination are stated in this guide. Do not follow a property application procedure from any other source, because the live destination must be checked on the day you apply.
If you are asking whether buying property gives you a Permanent Residence Card, the answer on the pages cited here is no, not by that name. The property pages state a real estate residence permit, with additional benefits at the higher threshold. Keep the two routes separate in your planning, and check each live page for its own procedure.
No presence rule, no 10 year or 5 year permit wording, and no status-check route was stated on the Ministry of Justice page or on the Sharek listing. None is stated here for the property route, for the same reason as for the card route: no official page cited here states them.
What the official pages did not state
No permit validity duration and no presence rule is stated on the official pages cited here. That statement covers both the Permanent Residence Card route and the property route. No 90 days per year rule, no 60 days absence rule, and no other presence rule was stated, and none is included here. No income figure, no document list for the Permanent Residence Card application (the property route’s three required documents are listed above), no processing time, no payment location, and no current availability statement beyond what the pages state is included, because none is stated on the official pages cited here. The 20 year and 10 year figures in this guide are eligibility durations only, and they must not be read as permit validity.
Before you apply, re-check the live Ministry of Interior Permanent Residency page, the eligibility inquiry form, and the Ministry of Justice property page on the day you apply. The committee determines the documents, the fee is stated as non-refundable, and the routes described here are the routes the pages stated at the time they were read. If a live page shows a different step, fee, or document request, follow the live official page for your application.
