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Getting and Renewing Your Qatar ID (QID) as a Foreign Resident
Document Checklist
جواز السفر — Jawāz al-Safar
Original passport
Required: Original passport with at least six months remaining validity on the date the sponsor lodges the file
Cost: Already issued (renew at your own embassy if validity is short)
A passport that dips below six months remaining validity is a common reason for a returned file at QID lodgement; renew at your own embassy before the sponsor lodges.
Two coloured passport-sized photographs
Specification: 3.5 × 4.5 cm against a blue background, taken within the last six months
Where to get: Any photo studio in Qatar (or country of origin if completing the pre-departure flow at a Qatar Visa Center in India, Pakistan or the Philippines)
Cost: Approximately QR 30 to QR 50 at a photo studio in Qatar
The Ministry of Interior service-centre standard at biometric capture is two prints; some sponsors carry additional copies to cover multi-step paperwork.
شهادة اللياقة الطبية — Shahādat al-Liyāqah al-Ṭibbīyah
Medical fitness certificate
Required: From a Ministry of Public Health-approved medical centre in Qatar — covers communicable-disease screening including chest X-ray and blood tests
Pre-departure variant: Nationals of India, Pakistan and the Philippines complete the equivalent at a Qatar Visa Center in their home country before travel
Cost: Approximately QR 100 at a Ministry of Public Health-approved centre (varies by centre)
Results transmit electronically to the Ministry of Interior within two to five working days; you do not collect a paper certificate.
البصمة — al-Baṣmah
Biometric capture confirmation
Required: Fingerprints from both hands and digital facial photograph captured at a Ministry of Interior fingerprint section or service-centre biometric counter
Where to get: Any Ministry of Interior service centre — main centre near Souq Al Ali in Doha, Madinat Khalifa, Industrial Area, Al Wakra, Mesaieed, or the Ras Bufontas Qatar Free Zones office
Cost: No counter fee for biometric capture itself
Without biometric capture the QID print is suspended irrespective of medical clearance. The appointment runs 15 to 30 minutes; the record is available to subsequent lodgement within 24 hours of capture.
السجل التجاري — al-Sijill al-Tijārī
Sponsor Commercial Registration certificate
Required: Valid Commercial Registration certificate of the sponsoring entity
Who holds it: The sponsor (employer, family sponsor, or Qatar-registered investor entity)
Cost: Already issued
Held and presented by the sponsor; the worker does not handle this directly.
البطاقة الإلكترونية — al-Biṭāqah al-Iliktrūnīyah
Sponsor Establishment ID and Computer Card
Required: Sponsor Establishment ID number and the associated Computer Card identifying the sponsoring entity to the Ministry of Interior portal
Cost: Already issued
Held by the sponsor's public-relations or human-resources team.
Registered employment contract
Required (employment route): Signed employment contract registered through the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (ADLSA) electronic contract-registration system
Cost: Already issued
Required for first issuance on the employment route. Renewal does not require a fresh contract unless the sponsor changes.
Bank guarantee certificate
Required (sponsor-side, employment route): Minimum QR 2,000 per expatriate employee, capped at QR 500,000 per sponsor, issued by a Qatar-licensed bank in favour of the Ministry of Interior under Article 63 of Ministerial Resolution No. 25 of 2019
Who lodges it: The sponsor
Cost: Sponsor-side capital requirement (not paid by the worker)
Unconditional and redeemable, valid for the permit duration.
Family-route attestations (dependants only)
Required (family route): Marriage certificate (spouse) and birth certificates (children), attested in the country of issue, attested again at a Qatar embassy in that country before travel, and attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar after arrival
Cost: Attestation fees vary by Qatar consular district and country of issue; some consular fees are quoted in the host-country currency
Required only for the family route. Eligible dependants are spouse, sons under 18 (or up to 25 if in full-time university with Ministry of Interior waiver), unmarried daughters of any age, and in some categories parents subject to ministerial approval.
Current QID card (renewal and transfer of sponsor)
Required (renewal, replacement and transfer): Existing QID card presented or its number lodged through the sponsor channel
Cost: Already issued
For a lost or damaged QID, a police report is required in addition; the sponsor lodges the replacement under the same channels.
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