Indian and Pakistani residents in Qatar can now apply for family resident visas through the Ministry of Interior’s Metrash2 mobile app.
While there has been no official announcement in this regard from the ministry, the Metrash2 app lists both the countries as drop-down options under “Nationality” in the section to apply for family resident visas. To apply, head to the ‘Visa’ page on Metrash2, then to ‘Family Visit’ and select ‘Family Resident Application’. Then, click ‘New Application’ and follow the instructions.
The development is expected to unite hundreds of expatriate families, who saw their plans to settle in Qatar getting waylaid by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent restrictions to stem its spread. The restrictions included curbs on visits and new resident visa applications from high-risk countries such as India and Pakistan, which are still not listed as options in the section to apply for family visit visas.
At present, Pakistani and Indian citizens with valid resident permits are only allowed entry to Qatar. Such residents who had their families back home previously had the option to bring them to Qatar on temporary visit visas or settle them up in the country by applying for family resident visas.
Both the options were suspended in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak but the resident visa processing for Indians and Pakistanis have since been restored.
