Moving to Qatar from India: emigration, attestation, NRI tax and licences

Current safety advice and the Indian Embassy

India does not publish travel advice levels in the way the UK or the US does. The Indian Embassy in Doha posts notices on its website. For a picture of the current risk from the regional conflict, other governments’ advice in October 2026 ranged from the UK, which did not advise against travel to Qatar, to Ireland, which advised against all but essential travel.

• Consular help (passports, visas, attestation and police clearance certificates): WhatsApp or call +974 5564 7502, or email cons.doha@mea.gov.in.
• Labour and community welfare: WhatsApp or call +974 5509 7295, or email labour.doha@mea.gov.in.
• For emergency services in Qatar, dial 999.

Emigration clearance

Qatar is one of 19 Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries. If your passport is marked ECR, you must get emigration clearance on the eMigrate portal before you go to work there.

ECR workers going to these countries must also hold Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana insurance. It pays INR 10 lakh for accidental death or permanent disability, and also covers hospital care, repatriation and legal expenses. The premium is INR 275 for two years or INR 375 for three.

• If your passport is not marked ECR, you do not need clearance. You can still register on eMigrate voluntarily to get the insurance benefits.
• Use only recruiting agents registered on eMigrate. The Ministry of External Affairs lists illegal agents on the portal.

Qatar Visa Centres in India

Qatar Visa Centres in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi take fingerprints and biometrics, carry out the medical examination and handle signing your employment contract before you travel. Ask your employer whether you should use one.

Attest your documents before you fly

India is in the Apostille Convention, but Qatar is not. So your documents need normal attestation by the Ministry of External Affairs, not an apostille. Normal attestation is free at the Ministry. Its outsourced agencies collect and return documents, and charge Rs 84 per document plus Rs 3 per page for scanning.

• Step 1: your state government authenticates the document first, through its Regional Authentication Centre. Some educational documents can be verified online through eSanad instead.
• Step 2: hand the document to one of the Ministry’s four outsourced agencies: BLS International, Superb Enterprises, IVS Global or Alhind Tours and Travels. Branch Secretariats and Regional Passport Offices in 16 cities, including Kochi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai, provide the service.
• Step 3: the Qatar Embassy in India attests the Ministry’s stamp. In Qatar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs finishes it. It charges QAR 100 for an academic certificate and QAR 100 for a marriage contract.
• Apply well in advance. The Ministry needs time to verify documents.

Tax: becoming a non resident

If you leave India for a job abroad, you are resident for a tax year only if you spend 182 days or more in India in that year. Otherwise you are a non resident.

As a non resident, income that accrues or arises outside India is not taxed in India. Income that arises in India, or that you receive in India, still is.

India and Qatar have a tax treaty. A revised treaty, signed in February 2025, applies in India from the 2026 to 2027 financial year.

• Watch the deemed residence rule. An Indian citizen whose income from India is more than Rs 15 lakh, and who is not liable to tax in any other country, can be treated as resident. Qatar does not tax salaries, so take advice if you have large Indian income, such as rent or investments.

Your bank accounts

• Once you become a non resident, your resident savings account must be converted to an NRO account.
• A bank may freeze an account that has not been converted, and you could face penalties under foreign exchange rules. Tell your bank before you leave.

Professional licences

Doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare workers need a licence from the Department of Healthcare Professions at the Ministry of Public Health. Primary source verification of your education, training and experience is mandatory, and you must attach the report to your application.

• Approved verification providers include Dataflow, Quadrabay and Approved Verification Services.
• Verification can take time, so start as soon as you have an offer.
• Other professions, such as engineers, have their own registration. Ask your employer what yours needs.

Health cover

In Qatar your cover comes from your employer’s insurance and from public healthcare, which you register for once you have your Qatar ID. Our healthcare guide explains how.

• Carry a prescription and a medical report from the last 6 months. Controlled medicines need a Ministry of Public Health permit.

Family residence

Your employer sponsors you. You can then sponsor your family once your own residence permit is issued.

• Under Qatar’s 2023 rules, private sector staff need a technical or specialised job and a salary of at least QAR 10,000 a month, or QAR 6,000 when family housing is in the contract.
• Government and semi government staff need family housing from their employer, or a salary of at least QAR 10,000.
• You can sponsor a husband or wife, unmarried daughters of any age and sons aged 24 or younger.
• Children aged 6 to 18 must be enrolled in a licensed school in Qatar, or show they are enrolled elsewhere, before their residence permits are issued or renewed.
• You need your attested marriage certificate and your children’s attested birth certificates.

Driving

• Qatar exchanges licences without the full driving course only for countries on the Ministry of Interior’s approved list. Qatar Living says the list covers most GCC states, many European countries, the US, Canada and Australia.
• If your licence is not from an approved country, you go through a licensed driving school in Qatar. Depending on your experience, that may be a road test only, or a half or full course.
• Anyone with a residence permit needs a Qatari driving licence.
• Qatar has zero tolerance for drink driving.

Debts, contracts and travel bans

• Unpaid loans and debts with a Qatari institution can stop you leaving Qatar, and a pending legal case can bring a travel ban. Cases can take years.
• Fraud, bounced cheques and unpaid bills can lead to prison or a fine.
• In a contract or employment dispute, Qatari authorities go by the Arabic text of the contract. Have the Arabic version translated before you sign.

Voting

• An Indian citizen living abroad for work or study, who has not taken another citizenship, can enrol as an overseas elector with Form 6A on the Election Commission’s voters portal.
• Overseas electors vote in person at their polling station in India, on showing their original passport.