Moving to Qatar from Pakistan: emigrant protection, attestation, tax and licences

Current safety advice and the Pakistan Embassy

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. Check the Pakistan Foreign Office for its own latest advisory.

The Pakistan Embassy is at Plot 30, Diplomatic Area, West Bay, Doha. Its Community Welfare Attachés protect the interests of Pakistani workers, give advice and counselling, and help settle employment disputes.

• Community Welfare Attaché offices: +974 4483 6708 and +974 5530 5836.
• For emergency services in Qatar, dial 999.

Register with the Protector of Emigrants

Before you leave for a job abroad, you register for emigrant protection with the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment. You can register directly, with an online request form, or through a licensed Overseas Employment Promoter.

• For direct registration you need your Qatari visa, a valid passport and CNIC, and an employment contract signed by your employer.
• You also need receipts for the registration fee, welfare fund and emigration promotion fee, and a State Life insurance certificate.
• Government servants, nurses and ex servicemen need a no objection certificate.
• You may also need a soft skills certificate, and for some countries a police character certificate and a medical fitness report.
• Use only licensed Overseas Employment Promoters.

Qatar Visa Centres in Pakistan

Qatar opened its first Visa Centre in Pakistan in Islamabad in December 2018, and a second in Karachi days later. The centres take biometrics, carry out the medical examination (blood tests, X ray, eyesight and a physical check) and let you sign your work contract before you travel. Ask your employer whether you should use one.

Attest your documents before you fly

Pakistan joined the Apostille Convention in March 2023, but Qatar is not a member. So choose normal attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, not an apostille.

Since 12 October 2026, you can apply through the Ministry’s Digital Attestation Portal with your CNIC and an email address. You upload your documents, pay online, and receive the certificate by email. Some documents may still need a visit to a Ministry office in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta or Gujrat.

• Verify first. University degrees and transcripts need Higher Education Commission verification. Matric and intermediate certificates go through the Inter Boards Coordination Commission.
• Check the fee on the portal before you pay. It depends on the service and the document.
• In Qatar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs finishes attestation. It charges QAR 100 for an academic certificate and QAR 100 for a marriage contract.
• Ask your employer exactly which documents they need, and whether they accept the emailed certificate.

Tax: becoming a non resident

Pakistan’s tax year runs from July to June. You are resident if you spend 183 days or more in Pakistan in a tax year. As a non resident, salary you earn outside Pakistan is not taxed there. Income from Pakistan, such as rent, still is.

The residence rules have changed several times. Another test, based on 120 days in the year and 365 days over the previous four years, was added in 2019 and reported withdrawn in 2021, and a 2026 summary says it applies again. Take advice if you visit Pakistan often.

Pakistan and Qatar have an income tax treaty, signed in 1999.

Banking from Qatar

• Non resident Pakistanis can open a Roshan Digital Account entirely online, without visiting a branch.
• You can hold it in foreign currency, in rupees or both, and use it for banking, payments and investments in Pakistan, including shares listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

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 nikah nama or 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.