How to apply for a Family Residence Visa in Qatar

Are you a lonely expatriate living in Qatar? You can apply for a Family Residence Visa to have your family come and live with you in Qatar if you meet the conditions set in place by the Ministry of Interior in Qatar. This is a guide to applying for a family residence in Qatar.

Requirements for applying for a Family Residence Visa in Qatar

Here are the conditions for applying for a family residence visa as per Law No.4/2009 which talks about the Exit/Entry and Residency of expats and their families.

• Earn QR 10,000 or more (QR 7000 if housing facilities are provided by the company)
• Have a Qatar ID under a professional visa category
• Must have worked for at least 6 months with the company
• A 6-month bank statement from an accredited bank to confirm the salary.
• A copy of education certificates to confirm the profession.

If you meet these conditions, you can bring your immediate family or dependents to Qatar. Every family member including infants and children will require their own separate Family Residence Visa and eventually, their own Qatar ID.

NOTE: You can only sponsor sons under 25 years of age and unmarried sons of any age.

The validity period of a Family Residence Visa is between 1 and 5. It costs QR 500 every year

Documents required for Family Residence Visa

To apply for the Visa, you will need the following documents;

• Completed application form for an offline application. The online application form is downloadable from here.
• Authentic marriage certificate approved by the Qatar Embassy in your native country, your country’s embassy in Doha, and then by the Ministry of foreign affairs in Doha.
• Authentic birth certificates of children are approved by the Qatar Embassy in your country, your country’s embassy in Doha and then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doha.
• Education certificates that are approved by the Qatar Embassy in your native country, your country’s embassy in Doha and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doha.
• Tenancy or rental contract.
• Copies of passports of all family members.
• No objection letter from the employer.
• Employment contract verified by the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs.
• Salary certificate.
• A certificate of good conduct (police clearance) approved by the relevant authorities for adults.
• Any other conditions are deemed necessary by competent authorities.

How to Apply for a Family Residence Visa in Qatar

• An application form is typed and filled and filled in Arabic.
• Required names and all relevant data-filled exactly as written in the passports.
•  A valid residence permit of a foreign spouse of a Gulf citizen, issued in their native country, or a certified marriage approval from relevant authorities must be submitted.
• If your marriage, educational and birth certificates of your children are in English, they must be translated into Arabic by a government-approved translation service in Qatar.
• All copies of documents must be clearly legible.
• Original documents are required during the time of registration.

Further additional documents that may be required include;

• An Employment contract (employees in government or semi-government institutions should be housed by the employer as specified in the employment contract)
• The profession and Salary of employees in government or semi-government institutions will be confirmed by an official letter from the institution.

You can submit your Family Residence Visa applications with all documents directly to the Gharafa Department of Immigration located in Madinat Khalifa, Doha.

Using the Ministry of Interior’s e-services portal, follow the following steps;

• Log in with your smartcard to the MOI e-services portal here and click on “Recruitment and Visa Services” and then click on “Family Visit Application”
• Select visa application type from the “Application type” list.

To submit a new application, follow these steps

• Select “New Application” from the “Application Options” list and then proceed to the next step
• Enter relevant family member details and click “Next”
• Enter family members passport numbers and click “Next”
• Type in your email to receive a copy of the receipt and click “Next”
• Attach all required documents listed above and click “Next”
• Confirm the details and documents then click on “Submit”

To inquire and follow up on the process of Family Residence Visa application;

• Click on “Application follow-up” then click “Next”
• A list of previously submitted applications with status and documents will appear.
• Click on “Application details” then click on “Next”
• You nay upload any missing documents during application from here, just click on “Upload Missing Documents”
• Attach any missing documents relevant to the application status and click “Submit”

Online Application For Metrash2 mobile app.

• Login to your Metrash2 App
• Click on “Visa Services”
• Find the “Family Applications” page and click on “New Application”
• Fill in all required details and click on “Validate”
• You will be told to upload your scanned documents. Ensure that they are clear.

After submitting your application, you will be given a receipt with the application number. You can track the application number from the Ministry of Interior website here.

Follow up on the application if the status doesn’t change after 7 working days. Go to the MOI for a follow-up.

Upon approval of the application, you will receive an SMS.