Guests from three nationalities are no longer able to book a hotel through Discover Qatar’s website in order to avail of visa on arrival. As of now, it is not known whether the hotel booking requirement for Indian, Iranian and Pakistani citizens arriving in Qatar on a visa-on-arrival will be permanently removed or just temporarily lifted.
It was announced on April 5, 2022 that Discover Qatar had made changes in requirements and had added compulsory hotel bookings for Indian, Iranian and Pakistani nationals for the duration of their stay in Qatar. It is said that the decision had sparked a controversy and a lot of comments on social media asking the authorities to reconsider the measure which is being viewed by many business and leisure travelers as counter productive to both business and tourism.
Discover Qatar is awaiting further instructions from the Qatar Ministry of Interior and will update the website appropriately. According to a customer service representative from the site, if the requirement is removed completely, those who booked yesterday will receive a full refund; however, if it is amended, the website will be updated accordingly in the next few days.