MUSCAT: With Qatar announcing visa on arrival for vaccinated travellers from India, the Gulf nation has become a spot for expatriates stranded back home and trying to get back to their jobs in Oman.

According to a top travel agent in Muscat, Doha can become a sought-after destination for hundreds of Indian travellers serving Covid-19 regulations before they are cleared to enter the Sultanate.

Indians trying to get back to their jobs, businesses and family were taking long routes.

They spend two weeks quarantine in countries from where travel to Oman is considered safe during movement restrictions to control the spread of Covid-19 variants.

However, As per Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) health guidelines, with Qatar opening “visa on arrival” for vaccinated Indian passengers, the route to Oman has now become shorter. “Stranded Indians back home can look Qatar as an option to enter Oman provided they register through the Etheraz App and get the approval before they are allowed to board the flight from India,” said Reena Abdulrahman, Chief Operating Officer of Alhind Travel and Tours.

“We are receiving lot of enquiries on this but there are pre-conditions that has to be met by the passengers,” Reena said.

Passengers have to take the two doses of vaccines approved by Qatar in order to be eligible to get an “on arrival visa”. Passengers must complete a period of 14 days after the last dose. “They must have a certificate confirming negative PCR test completed during the 72 hours from the time of arrival,” Reena noted. PCR is free of charge when arriving in Doha.

Alhind Travels are providing a full-package to Indian passengers who are planning to return to Oman and other Gcc countries via Qatar. “Earlier Indian passengers used to look at Armenia, Uzbekistan, Maldives Serbia to come to Oman, Saudi, Uae after completing the necessary quarantine formalities but now they can look at Qatar which is the nearest port for Indians,” Reena added. Alhind Travels can be reached at +968 94190014 or +968 79044239.

Pfizer/Biontech, Sinaform, Moderna, AstraZeneca vaccines (Coveshield / Oxford / Vaxepheria), Janssen/Johnson & Johnson Vaccine (One Dose) are some of the approved vaccines in Qatar. Out of these vaccines Sinaform is a conditional vaccination.ie visa on arrival will be granted but passenger must follow institutional quarantine for 10 days.

Due to rise in coronavirus cases, the Supreme Committee suspended incoming flights for travellers from India on April 24 until further notice.