The Law No. 10 of 2018 on permanent residency was stamped and issued by HH The Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani on September 4^th, 2018 making the changes in the permanent residency official. Through the law, Qatar comes under few countries in the Middle East to have taken the initiative to award residency to those who the government sees fit to stay. This is a huge step given how it will create a sense of belonging while rewarding those doing service to the country on various grounds. It will help Qatar grow economically, socially and politically as well.

Rules and regulations to obtain the Permanent Residency permit

As per the changes in the law, anyone can obtain the permanent resident permit of Qatar under certain rules and regulations. Here are the details of the rules and regulations one must fulfil to get the permanent residency done in Qatar –

• Those applying must have spent 20 years in Qatar on a legal ordinary residency permit if they are born out of Qatar. If they were born in Qatar, they must have spent at least 10 years in Qatar. The residency should be continuous and without any breaks and it should be prior to the submission date of the application for the permanent residency. This continuation of residency in Qatar should not be interrupted by staying outside of the country for more than 60 days in a year. In such cases, the excess duration of the stay would be deducted from the balance of the residency within Qatar.
• If the applicant leaves Qatar after applying for the permanent resident permit for more than six months, the Ministry of Interior has the right to forfeit the candidate’s application as well as the previous residency duration in the country as well.
• The applicant must be good earning and enough to take care of himself and his family. The minimum income will be specified by the cabinet along with exceptional cases.
• The applicant must have good conduct in Qatar and reputation to preside it with. They must not have any prior conviction in a dishonourable offence unless they have gone through rehabilitation as per the law of Qatar.
• The applicant must adequately know the Arabic language.
• The provision of this article is not applicable to some of the personnel in the special category such as:
• Non-qatari husband of a Qatari women
• Any children of a Qatari woman married to a non-Qatari man
• A Qatari husband of a non-Qatari or an expatriate wife
• Any children of a Qatari with naturalization
• People with special needs wanted by the Qatar state
• In such cases, the clauses 1, 2 and 3 will be applied on the expatriate husband of a Qatari woman when he applied for a permanent residency permit.

Applying for Permanent residency permit in Qatar

To apply for permanent residency in Qatar, one can submit the application through the website of Ministry of Interior. If the applicant meets the criterion, they would be contacted through an SMS to submit further documents. The application fee of QR3000 would be sought and after completion of the procedure, a final fee of QR3000 must also be paid when collecting. To check the eligibility for permanent residency of Qatar, visit the official website of Ministry of Interior.

https://portal.moi.gov.qa/wps/portal/MOIInternet/services/inquiries/residencypermits/preligibilityinquiry