Qatar gives an investor visa and residence without a sponsor to two groups: investors under the foreign investment law, and people who own real estate or hold its use. For property, the floor is QAR 730,000, and you spend at least 90 days a year in Qatar. Either way you get five years, and your spouse, children and parents can join you. We checked these rules on 21 October 2026.
Investor visa and residence routes
Most foreigners in Qatar live there on an employer’s sponsorship. Article 30 of Law No. 21 of 2015 sets out the exceptions. With no sponsor at all, the Ministry of Interior may give entry visas and residence to investors under the law on non-Qatari capital investment, to people who own real estate or hold its benefit, and to any other group the Cabinet names. Invest Qatar has a residency programme of its own as well, aimed at founders and senior executives.
| Route | Who it is for | Main condition | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investor residence | An investor under Law No. 1 of 2019 | A letter from the concerned state body naming the investment | Five years, renewable |
| Property residence | An owner or beneficiary of real estate | Property worth QAR 730,000 or more, and 90 days a year in Qatar | Five years, renewed while you own the property |
| Entrepreneur Residency | A founder endorsed by a Qatar incubator | The incubator’s endorsement and a bank balance | Long-term, renewable |
| Permanent residence | Long-term residents | 20 years’ legal residence if born abroad, 10 if born in Qatar | A permanent card |
Investor residence permit in Qatar through a company
An investor residence permit starts with the Ministry of Interior’s investor residence visa, which is for people coming to Qatar to invest. The visa asks for a passport copy, a letter from the concerned authority stating the investment, a good conduct certificate attested by the concerned authorities and a medical test before travel. The fee shown is QAR 200. The Executive Regulations add that the concerned state body fills in the form and its letter names the activity of the investment.
How much must you invest? The law does not say, nor do the regulations or the Ministry’s page for this route. If you see an amount quoted somewhere else, get the concerned body to confirm it in writing before you rely on it.
Plenty of owners never use the investor route. They hold an ordinary work residence permit as manager or partner of their own company. Under Article 16 of the law, a partner authorised to sign may do some administrative work in the company once the authority approves, and that permit follows the normal employment rules.
Residence through property ownership
- Minimum property or usufruct value for residence
- QAR 730,000
- Minimum time in Qatar each year
- 90 days
- Value that adds permanent-card benefits
- QAR 3.65m
- Longest usufruct term, renewable
- 99 years
From Articles 5 and 7 of Council of Ministers Decision No. 28 of 2020, as checked on 21 Oct 2026.
Foreign ownership of property rests on Law No. 16 of 2018, with the detail in Council of Ministers Decision No. 28 of 2020. A foreigner can own or use property in the areas the decision’s tables list. Outside those areas, a foreigner can still own a unit in a residential complex, or an office or shop in a commercial complex or mall.
The residence threshold is QAR 730,000, measured against the property or the right to use it, and the owner has to be in Qatar for at least 90 days a year, in one stay or several. Take an apartment valued at QAR 800,000: it clears the floor. Value here means the market value approved by the Real Estate Registration Department at the Ministry of Justice. Once the value reaches QAR 3,650,000, the owner also gets the health care, education and investment benefits that permanent residence card holders have.
Invest Qatar’s residency programme and permanent residence
Invest Qatar runs its Residency Program with Jusour, in two streams. In the Entrepreneur Residency, a recognised Qatar incubator endorses the founder and puts the name forward. A founder applying from overseas sends, among other papers, an attested bank statement for three months that shows at least USD 10,000. In the Executive Residency, the employer nominates someone already resident in Qatar who has spent at least five years in a senior executive post and has a direct contract with a listed type of company; a bank regulated by Qatar Central Bank is one example. A chairman or chief executive needs a monthly salary of QAR 50,000 or more.
Permanent residence is something else again, granted under Law No. 10 of 2018. The Ministry of Interior sets four conditions. You need 20 years of legal residence if born abroad, or 10 if born in Qatar. Your income must be enough for you and your family. Your conduct must be good, with no conviction for a dishonourable offence. And you need enough knowledge of Arabic. A committee at the Ministry examines each application.
Application fee
QAR 3,000, not refundable, paid online.
Card fee
A further QAR 3,000 once the application is finally approved.
Property
Permanent card holders may own and use real estate under the 2020 decision.
Conditions, documents and how to apply
The law asks every applicant on these routes for two things: documents that support the request, and good conduct and reputation. The regulations then set the papers for each route.
- Confirm your route
Investment, property ownership, property usufruct, or a programme stream. Each route has its own letter from the concerned state body.
- Get the supporting letter
For an investor, a letter naming the activity of the investment. For a property owner or beneficiary, a letter confirming the ownership or use.
- Prepare personal papers
A valid passport, a good conduct certificate attested by the concerned authorities, and the medical test before travel where the Ministry asks for it.
- Apply for the visa
The Ministry of Interior issues the investor residence visa; the fee shown is QAR 200. The regulations say the Minister approves visas and residence on these routes.
- Complete residence in Qatar
After arrival, the medical examination and fingerprints come before the residence permit is issued.
Your spouse, children and parents may then be granted residence without needing a job in Qatar. The Ministry’s visa for the family of an investor, property owner or beneficiary asks for proof of the relationship, an attested good conduct certificate and a medical test before travel, and the fee shown is QAR 100.
Keeping the residence
Property residence lasts five years and renews on payment of the fees for as long as you own or use the property. Investor residence also lasts five years and can be renewed for further periods. While the permit is valid, you may leave Qatar and return without asking permission.
The link to the asset matters. Under the Executive Regulations, these permits, and those of the family, are cancelled if the investment project is liquidated or sold, or if the property or its use passes to someone else, once the concerned body notifies the Ministry in writing. Plan the residence before you sell or restructure.
How we help
Our part is the preparation. We look at your company or property and tell you which route fits, put together the investor or family residence file, and check that every certificate has been attested in the right order. The decision on each application rests with the Ministry of Interior, and for property with the competent real estate authority.
