Qatar Visa Extension Insurance

Key facts at a glance

Figures compiled from MOPH announcements and the official scheme guidance listed in the sources section. Always confirm the current registry and prices on the MOPH Health Insurance Scheme page before paying.

Does a Qatar visa extension require health insurance?

Yes. Health insurance is a condition of holding a valid visit visa in Qatar — at entry, and again when you extend. Article-style hedging is common on this topic, but the rule itself is not ambiguous. When MOPH launched the mandatory visitor scheme under Law No. (22) of 2021, it stated plainly: a health insurance policy is one of the requirements for obtaining a visitor’s visa, “the same process applies when extending the visitor visa” [1]. MOPH’s own scheme guidance goes further: “If the visitor wishes to extend his/her stay in the State of Qatar, then he/she must purchase a new health insurance policy” [3].

Two consequences follow from that single sentence, and both matter for your wallet:

1. Extending your visa does not extend your insurance. Your existing policy keeps its original end date. If MOI grants you 30 more days of legal stay and your policy stops on day 30, days 31 onwards are uninsured unless you buy cover for them.
2. The extension flow expects you to fix this, not ignore it. For most visit-visa categories, insurance for the extended period is purchased as part of the extension process itself — the system routes you to a MOPH-registered insurer before the extension is completed [2][6].

There are exactly two realistic exceptions. GCC citizens do not need the visitor policy [7]. And if you hold an international health policy that MOPH accepts — meaning it covers Qatar, stays valid for your full extended stay, and meets the QAR 150,000 emergency limit with no deductible [2] — you may already satisfy the requirement. Everyone else should budget QAR 50 per extra month and treat insurance as step one of the extension, not an afterthought.

If you are still deciding whether you needed insurance for the original entry at all, our guide on whether travel insurance is mandatory for Qatar covers the entry-stage rules in full. This page deals with what changes when your stay gets longer.

How the visa and insurance systems actually connect

A lot of older advice online describes Qatar’s visa extension and visitor insurance as two totally separate systems that never talk to each other. That description is out of date, and following it can cost you money in both directions — a fine on one side, a coverage gap on the other.

Here is the current reality, based on MOPH’s published process [2][3]:

1. When you apply for a visit visa or an extension through the MOI website or the Metrash app, you are redirected to MOPH’s insurance channel to pick one of the registered insurers.
2. You enter your visa number when buying the policy. The insurer’s system reports the policy against that visa number automatically. Since April 2023 you do not upload any insurance document inside Metrash — the link is handled for you [6].
3. Once the policy is issued, MOI completes the visa or extension. MOPH’s guidance is explicit that the original policy’s validity starts on your date of entry, and that extending the stay requires a new policy purchase [3].

So why do people still get caught out? Because the integration covers the mandatory scheme purchased through the official channel. It does not cover policies bought outside it — an international policy from a non-registered provider, an old PDF saved in your email, or a policy that quietly ended while your visa continued. The system assumes your insurance matches your visa dates because you bought it inside the flow. Step outside the flow and the checking becomes your job again.

The practical takeaway is the opposite of the old advice. Buy through the MOI/Metrash route, enter the visa number correctly, and the linkage mostly manages itself. The mistakes happen when visitors reuse an old certificate, buy from an unregistered seller, or extend the visa first and “get around to” insurance later.

What Qatar visa extension insurance actually costs

The mandatory scheme keeps pricing simple by design. MOPH set the standard visitor policy at QAR 50 per month, and the announcement that launched the scheme applies that rate to extensions as well: the QAR 50 premium holds “at the initial issuance and upon extension of the visa” [1]. Thirty days is the minimum policy duration [2].

Visa fees and insurance are paid to different parties — MOI and your chosen insurer — so budget them separately. Fees can change; confirm on the MOI portal at the time of application.

Two things sit on top of that base price. First, top-up cover: every registered insurer sells optional upgrades on top of the QAR 50 emergency-and-accident policy, priced at their own rates [1][2]. Second, the family-visit medical test: extensions beyond the first month require a medical examination at the Medical Commission, which costs about QAR 100 [6]. Neither replaces the base policy.

For a full price breakdown of the standard policy itself — and what the QAR 50 buys you line by line — see our guide to Qatar visitor health insurance costs.

Step by step: extending your insurance when you extend your visa

The order that avoids every common problem: sort the insurance requirement as part of the visa extension, through the official route, a few days before anything expires. MOI recommends applying at least 2–3 days before expiry for ordinary extensions [5]; sponsors handling family visit visas often apply 3–7 days out.

1. Check both dates first. Note your visa’s expiry (Metrash or the MOI portal) and your insurance policy’s end date. If the policy ends when the visa does, you need new cover for every added day.
2. Start the extension in Metrash or on the MOI portal. For most visit visas sponsors or visitors go to Visa → Visa Services → Extend Visa in the Metrash app [6]. Family visit visa extensions beyond one month go through the Medical Commission step first [6].
3. Follow the redirect to MOPH’s insurance channel. You will be shown the registered insurers [2]. Pick one — price for the mandatory policy is the same QAR 50/month everywhere [1], so choose on service, app quality, and claims support rather than cost.
4. Enter your visa number exactly. The policy attaches to that number automatically — since April 2023 no upload of the insurance document is needed in Metrash [6]. A single mistyped digit breaks the link.
5. Set the policy duration to match (or exceed) the extended stay. MOPH’s instruction is that the policy duration should match or exceed the visa period you are applying for [2]. If you plan to extend monthly, buying 60–90 days upfront beats re-buying every month, because the minimum policy duration is 30 days anyway [2].
6. Pay, then verify inside Metrash. Complete the extension payment (where a fee applies) and confirm the visa now shows the new expiry date. Save both receipts.
7. Keep the new certificate. Replace the old policy PDF in your travel folder with the new one, and note the insurer’s 24-hour assistance number.

One deliberate omission: there is no “renew my old policy” button in this flow. MOPH’s phrasing is a new policy purchase [3]. Some registered insurers may offer their own renewal shortcut if you buy directly from them with the same visa number; ask your insurer. From MOI’s side, each extension period is a fresh QAR 50 policy, not a continuation of the last one.

What travelers report when they actually do this

Official rules describe how the process should work. Public threads on r/qatar and expat forums describe where it actually snags. The experiences below are individual reports, not official policy, but they show exactly where the friction sits before you walk into it [12].

The “insurance details not found” error is a known wall

The most repeated extension story on r/qatar goes like this: a sponsor applies on the MOI portal and hits an error saying insurance details were not found. They pay the insurer for the extra month, in one 2023 thread QAR 100 through a QLM payment link for two parents, receive fresh policies, and the portal still shows the same error. As the poster put it: “The health insurance just doesn’t reflect on MOI.” [12]

The workaround that thread converged on, and that later posters confirmed: extend the insurance first, ask the insurer to confirm it has been uploaded against the visa number on MOI, and if the site still errors, go to the airport immigration office early in the morning. One user reported the extension had actually been processed in the background despite the error message. None of this is written in any official guide. It is what people pieced together by queueing.

Yes, they do ask for insurance at the border

People regularly ask whether anyone really checks. An Australian traveller who has entered Qatar multiple times answered directly on r/qatar in 2025: “The local Qatari insurance has been asked for each time. I had to sit at customs and buy it once before I was let through” — with the practical footnote that buying it on airport wifi in a customs queue is far more stressful than buying it the week before [12]. Others in the same thread report never being asked at entry. Enforcement varies by desk and visa type, but the scheme is not theoretical: in an April 2025 thread about extending a wife’s visa at the airport immigration office, the whole process came down to buying QIC insurance online for QAR 50 on the spot [12].

International cover works when it clearly meets the criteria

One Canadian traveller reported entering on an employer plan that covered Qatar at 100% for 60 days with no copay or deductible, writing that per the Hukoomi and MOPH criteria this “makes me exempt from having to buy any insurance in Qatar” [12]. That matches the official position [2]. What travelers add is a caution the official page does not carry: desk-level familiarity with international policies is uneven, and some visitors report being waved toward a Qatar-registered insurer anyway. If you plan to rely on an international policy, carry printed proof that visibly shows the Qatar coverage, validity dates, emergency limit, and no-deductible wording.

On-arrival entries: the 30+30 ceiling, and the hotel-booking trap

Travellers consistently report a hard ceiling on visa-on-arrival extensions: 30 days plus one 30-day extension, then exit. One sponsor described extending a wife’s on-arrival visa once and finding “no reason was accepted (including medical) to get any sort of extension” beyond that [12]. A second pattern matters for this site’s readers in particular: in 2025 threads, Pakistani families reported that on-arrival entries were often granted only for the length of the visitor’s hotel booking, leaving sponsors unable to extend when relatives needed to stay longer. If you host family from Pakistan, India, or similar VOA-eligible passports, book accommodation to match the intended stay from day one, or use a family visit visa for anything beyond a short trip [12].

The overstay fine is enforced from day one

Forum reports line up with the official QAR 200/day figure [4]: travelers describe being stopped at the airport over a one-day overstay and paying the fine on the spot before departure [12]. There is no informal grace period to rely on. Exceptions exist only when MOI announces them, as during the February 2026 closure [8][11].

How extension insurance works by visa type

Visa on arrival (and the 30-day tourist extension)

Nationals eligible for visa-free entry or visa on arrival typically receive 30 days, extendable once for a further 30 through Metrash2 — provided the health insurance and return ticket remain valid for the added period [8]. This is the simplest case: one more month, one more QAR 50 policy, roughly QAR 100 extension fee depending on category [5]. Because the original 30-day policy ends exactly when the original visa does, there is almost always a gap to fill here. Buy the new policy for the extension window, not for the original arrival window. Travellers consistently report a hard ceiling of 60 days total on this route [12], so if your trip might outgrow it, skip to the family visit visa logic below instead of relying on a second extension that is not coming.

Family visit visa

The family visit visa starts at one month and can then be extended monthly — up to a total of around 180 days for spouses and children, and about 90 days for other relatives [6]. Each extension month costs QAR 200 in visa fees [6], plus the QAR 50 insurance policy for the same period, plus a one-off medical examination at the Medical Commission (about QAR 100) after the first month [6]. Insurance guidance for this category is blunt: you cannot complete the extension without extending coverage into the new period [9]. Because extensions beyond the second month are not guaranteed, Doha-based sponsors commonly advise buying insurance one or two months at a time rather than prepaying six [6] — confirm each stage is approved before paying for the next block of cover.

Hayya entry permits

Hayya-linked entries carry their own 30-day visitor policy — attached to the Hayya entry at the same QAR 50 price point and covering emergency care up to the scheme’s QAR 150,000 ceiling [10]. If your Hayya permit type supports an extension through the Hayya portal, treat insurance the same way: verify the permit’s new end date first, then hold a policy that covers every day up to it. The Hayya platform is a separate application channel from Metrash, so do not assume an insurance purchase in one shows up in the other — keep the certificate and enter the correct reference number wherever you extend.

GCC citizens, residents and other exemptions

GCC citizens are exempt from the mandatory visitor scheme [7]. QID-holding residents sit outside it entirely — their cover comes through the resident-side health insurance arrangements, and this guide does not apply to them. Everyone else visiting Qatar beyond 30 days should assume the scheme applies until they have specifically confirmed otherwise on the MOPH registry.

The MOPH-registered insurance companies

Only policies from insurers registered with MOPH count toward the mandatory scheme (or, for international policies, from MOPH-approved international insurers). Registries change, but the published list of registered national insurers currently includes [7]:

• Damaan Islamic Insurance Company — “Beema”
• Qatar Insurance Company (QIC)
• Qatar Islamic Insurance Group
• Al Koot Insurance & Reinsurance
• QLM Life & Medical Insurance
• Doha Insurance Group
• Al Khaleej Takaful Insurance
• Doha Takaful
• Qatar General Insurance & Reinsurance (QGIRCO)
• General Takaful Company
• Al Arabia Insurance Company
• Libano-Suisse Insurance Company

MOPH-approved international providers listed alongside them include GIG Gulf (formerly AXA in the Gulf), SEIB, and Sharq Insurance [7]. Since the mandatory policy costs the same QAR 50/month whoever sells it [1], the choice between them is about service rather than price — how fast the policy PDF arrives, whether the visa number syncs without chasing support, and how reachable their assistance line is. Before buying, cross-check the name against the current registry on the MOPH Health Insurance Scheme page; registrations are updated, and an unregistered seller’s certificate is worthless at immigration.

If you already hold an international health insurance policy

You do not have to buy the QAR 50 local policy if your international policy meets MOPH’s acceptance criteria. Published guidance lists four conditions [2]:

1. Qatar must be inside the policy’s geographic coverage. A worldwide policy usually qualifies; a “Middle East excluding Qatar” one obviously does not.
2. It must be valid for the full duration of your stay — which, for an extending visitor, means the new extended end date, not the original one.
3. Emergency and accident cover of at least QAR 150,000, with no co-payment, deductible or excess. A high limit paired with a deductible fails the test exactly as a low limit does.
4. COvid-19 cover of at least QAR 50,000. This still appears in the MOPH criteria for internationally issued policies [2].

Carry a physical copy of the policy — MOPH notes that paper proof can be requested by border officers and healthcare providers [2]. And watch the calendar issue that trips people up: many annual international policies run on a membership year, and visitors extend through a renewal boundary without noticing. If your policy renews 1 January and your stay stretches from December into February, confirm the renewed certificate explicitly covers Qatar before you rely on it for the extension.

For expats arranging wider cover beyond the mandatory minimum — outpatient treatment, dental, maternity — our overview of travel insurance for Qatar compares what full private plans add on top of the scheme policy.

What happens if your insurance expires before your extended stay ends

Three separate problems stack up, and confusing them causes avoidable panic.

Problem one: you are medically unprotected. The QAR 50 policy exists because Qatari emergency care is not free for visitors. Qatari law obliges providers to deliver emergency treatment without demanding payment up front [2] — but that protects your access to the emergency room, not the bill that follows. An uninsured visitor is exposed to the full price of whatever happens after stabilisation. The fix costs QAR 50; the exposure does not have a ceiling you control.

Problem two: immigration inconvenience. The insurance record travels with your visa number. If an officer, a hospital registration desk, or a later visa application surfaces a gap, you will be explaining yourself at the worst possible moment [2][6].

Problem three: the one people actually get fined for. If your visa has lapsed and not only your insurance, Qatar’s overstay fine runs at QAR 200 per day, capped at QAR 12,000, enforced at exit checkpoints and payable before departure [4]. The fine attaches to overstaying the visa, not to the missing insurance itself. But the two failures usually surface together, because both dates tend to sit in the same forgotten calendar reminder. When you discover one problem, the other is already there.

If you are already inside a gap: do not wait. Extend the visa first (Metrash, MOI portal, or a service centre), purchase the new insurance in the same flow, pay any fine assessed, and keep receipts for all three. The longer the gap sits, the more the “I’ll sort it tomorrow” option quietly disappears.

A worked example with real dates

Say a Pakistani passport holder lands in Doha on a visa-on-arrival entry on 3 January. At entry they buy the standard mandatory policy: 3 January – 1 February, QAR 50, from a MOPH-registered insurer [1][2]. On 20 January they decide to stay through February. Here is what the next two weeks look like if they do it right:

1. 20 January: In Metrash2, request the 30-day extension for the visa-on-arrival entry [8]. MOPH channel offers the registered insurers; they pick one and buy a new policy, 2 February – 3 March, QAR 50, entered against their visa number [3][6].
2. Pay the extension fee (≈ QAR 100 for this category [5]) and confirm the visa now shows an early-March expiry.
3. Total extra spend: ≈ QAR 150 — less than a single day of the overstay fine [4].
4. 3 January policy ends 1 February; new policy starts 2 February. No uninsured day exists in between, and the insurance record against the visa number shows continuous cover [6].

Now the wrong version of the same trip: they extend the visa in Metrash, skip the insurance step because “the card already worked last month,” and on 14 February they need an emergency clinic. The visa is valid; the wallet is not. The QAR 50 they skipped is the cheapest mistake in the whole itinerary — and the hardest one to explain at a hospital desk.

Mandatory health insurance vs comprehensive travel insurance — don’t confuse the two

Everything above is about the minimum legal policy: QAR 50/month, emergency and accident treatment, inside Qatar only [1][2]. It does nothing for a cancelled flight, a stolen suitcase, an evacuation home, or a prepaid hotel you can no longer use. Comprehensive travel insurance is a separate, optional product that can carry those benefits — and extending your visitor health insurance adds none of them.

Three situations where the bigger policy is worth pricing up for an extended stay:

• Older visitors. Emergency-only cover leaves a lot of risk with a 70-year-old parent staying for months. See our notes on travel insurance for senior travellers in Qatar.
• Anyone with a medical history. Standard scheme policies are not built around pre-existing conditions; a declared-condition comprehensive plan may be the safer spend. Our guide to travel insurance with pre-existing conditions explains how disclosure and exclusions generally work in this region.
• Onward trips. If the extended stay includes a side-trip such as a Schengen leg from Doha, the destination’s own rules apply; we keep a separate guide on Schengen travel insurance from Qatar.

If COVID-era requirements are your worry for a 2026 trip, the current picture, including the QAR 50,000 COVID criterion on international policies, is covered in whether travel insurance still covers COVID in 2026.

Documents to keep after extending

• Passport — valid well beyond the new stay end date
• The extension approval shown in Metrash or the MOI confirmation, saved as a screenshot [5]
• The new insurance policy certificate and payment receipt
• Your visa number and policy number, written down separately from your phone
• The insurer’s 24-hour assistance and claims contact
• For family visit visas: the Medical Commission result and its receipt [6]

One habit that prevents almost every dispute: a single travel folder — cloud or physical — holding only the current versions. When authorities or hospitals ask for proof, an expired certificate presented confidently is worse than none at all, because it signals you did not know cover had run out.

Common Qatar visa extension insurance mistakes

1. Assuming the visa extension extends the policy. It does not; MOPH requires a new policy for the added period [3]. This is the mistake the whole page exists to prevent.
2. Buying the new policy for the wrong dates. The new policy must cover the extension window, starting where the old one ends — not repeat the original arrival dates.
3. Paying an unregistered seller. Airport kiosks and third-party agents reselling “insurance” that is not on the MOPH registry produce certificates immigration will not accept. Check the registry, buy inside the MOI/Metrash flow, and the problem mostly vanishes [2][7].
4. Mistyping the visa number. One wrong digit and the policy never links to your visa record [6]. Verify inside Metrash after purchase, not at the airport.
5. Prepaying six months of insurance before the visa extension is approved. Family visit visa extensions beyond certain points are discretionary [6]; buy in monthly blocks as each stage is confirmed.
6. Relying on an international policy that fails MOPH criteria. The QAR 150,000 no-deductible emergency clause and the length-of-stay validity are the two that usually fail [2].
7. Letting the visa lapse while “arranging” insurance. Fines run at QAR 200/day on the visa [4]. When in doubt, extend the visa first and buy insurance inside the same session.
8. Confusing the QAR 50 policy with full travel insurance. One is a legal minimum for emergency care; the other is optional wider protection. Both can be sensible; neither substitutes for the other [1][2].

Frequently asked questions about Qatar visa extension insurance

Do I need to buy new health insurance when I extend my Qatar visa?

Yes. MOPH guidance states that a visitor who extends their stay must purchase a new health insurance policy for the additional period [3]. The standard mandatory premium is QAR 50 per month, the same as at first entry [1]. GCC citizens and holders of MOPH-compliant international policies are the main exceptions [2][7].

How much does Qatar visa extension insurance cost?

QAR 50 for each 30 days of extended stay, bought from a MOPH-registered insurer [1][2]. That sits on top of the visa extension fee itself — around QAR 100 for a tourist extension and QAR 200 per month for a family visit visa [5][6].

Does extending my Qatar visa automatically extend my insurance?

No. The visa extension updates your permission to stay; your insurance policy keeps its original end date unless you purchase new cover for the added days [3]. The MOI/Metrash extension flow routes you to buy that cover, but the purchase is a step you complete, not something that happens by itself [2][6].

Can I extend my Qatar visa without valid health insurance?

For most visit-visa categories, no — valid insurance for the extended period is part of completing the extension, and family visit visa guidance is explicit that the extension does not proceed without it [8][9]. Visa-on-arrival extensions through Metrash2 likewise require insurance valid for the extra period [8].

Where do I buy the insurance for a Qatar visa extension?

Start the extension on the MOI portal or the Metrash app. You will be directed to MOPH’s insurance channel to choose one of the registered insurers, then you enter your visa number and pay [2][6]. Since April 2023 nothing needs to be uploaded manually — the policy links to your visa automatically [6].

Is Qatar visitor health insurance the same as travel insurance?

No. The mandatory QAR 50 policy covers emergency and accident medical care inside Qatar [1][2]. Travel insurance is an optional wider product that can add cancellation, baggage, evacuation and other benefits. Extending your mandatory policy adds none of those.

What is the fine for overstaying a Qatar visit visa?

QAR 200 per day of overstay, capped at QAR 12,000, enforced at exit checkpoints and payable before departure [4]. The fastest way to avoid it is to extend before expiry and keep both the visa and the insurance valid through the new dates.

My international health insurance is valid — do I still need the QAR 50 policy?

Not if it meets MOPH’s four criteria: Qatar included in the coverage area, validity for your full (extended) stay, at least QAR 150,000 of emergency and accident cover with no deductible or co-payment, and QAR 50,000 of COVID-19 cover [2]. Carry a paper copy; border officers and hospitals can ask to see it [2].

Does the QAR 50 policy cover pre-existing conditions or routine treatment?

The mandatory policy is designed around emergency and accident services [1][2]. Chronic conditions, routine check-ups and planned treatment sit outside its intended scope. Visitors who need that level of protection should price a comprehensive plan alongside the mandatory one — see our guides on pre-existing conditions and senior travellers.

Will immigration actually check my insurance at the airport?

Do not count on being waved through. Visitors on prior-arranged visit visas need the policy as part of the visa process itself [2]; visa-on-arrival nationalities are exempt for the first 30 days but need it for any extension [3]. Traveler reports vary, but repeated recent accounts describe officers asking for the Qatar policy at entry and at the extension office [12]. Buy it before you travel and keep a printed copy.

What if MOI shows “insurance details not found” after I paid?

First confirm with your insurer that the policy was issued against the correct visa number and synced to MOI; one mistyped digit breaks the link. Travelers report the portal sometimes keeps showing the error even after a successful sync, and that the airport immigration office resolves such cases in person, often quickly in morning hours [12]. Go with the policy certificate, the payment receipt, and the visa copy.