Why is Pakistan not included in Qatar's recent visa waiver program for 80 countries, while India was included?

Visa Waiver lists are based on government policy, not equality

Countries do not create visa-waiver lists based on fairness or population size. Instead, visa policies are shaped by:

• Reciprocity agreements
• Security assessments
• Immigration risk indicators
• Travel volume and tourism potential
• Bilateral relations and diplomatic frameworks

Because these factors differ between India and Pakistan, their outcomes in visa policies naturally differ.

India’s travel volume and tourism market are much larger

A significant factor that made India to be incorporated is the huge source of outbound tourism. Gulf countries, such as Qatar, are among the most popular destinations of Indian tourists, who already send millions of travelers to the other countries each year.

In the case of Qatar, it should be on the visa-waiver list:

• Boosts short-term tourism
• The supporter of the hotel and hospitality industry.
• Attracts business visitors
• Enhances the aviation centre of Qatar (Doha).

Visa waiver promotes impulsive travel, stopover and short business trips - sectors that the Indian travelers play significant roles.

Pakistan’s exclusion is often linked to immigration risk indicators

Although Pakistan boasts of a many population and large diaspora in the Gulf, the immigration authorities around the world usually consider visa overstays, unauthorized work-related issues, and documentation difficulties in classifying the risk to identify the risky groups.

Countries can not include some nations in visa-waiver programs in case:

• Higher rates of visa overstays and irregular migration are factors that some countries consider when deciding visa-free eligibility.
• It has high irregular migration.
• It is also concerned with documentation verification.
• More security screening is required.

This is not to say that Pakistanis are not welcome but the Qatari government would rather have a controlled, pre-checked visa procedure for Pakistani tourists.

Existing Qatar–Pakistan visa arrangements already support travel

Qatar continues to provide several pre-approved visa pathways, such as tourist visas, family visit visas, and entry permits, depending on current regulations.

These allow Pakistani citizens to travel to Qatar, but through a controlled screening process rather than a visa-free entry method.

Because Pakistan has a large expatriate population already living in Qatar, the visa system focuses more on structured residency and employment programs rather than waived entry for short visits.

Bilateral relations between Qatar and India are economically strong

Qatar and India share extensive cooperation in:

• Energy partnerships (especially LNG exports)
• Trade agreements
• Aviation connections
• Expanding tourism links

India is one of Qatar’s largest consumer markets, which adds economic incentive to ease travel.

Meanwhile, Qatar and Pakistan also maintain strong ties, but their cooperation has traditionally focused more on labor migration and long-term residence, while short-term tourism facilitation has not been prioritized to the same extent— the main target of visa-waiver programs.

Conclusion

Pakistan’s exclusion from Qatar’s visa-free policy does not imply discrimination, but reflects broader policy considerations related to tourism strategy and entry management. Rather, the decision is based on the Qatar tourism approach, immigration risk measurement and economic priorities. India is eligible on the basis of its huge tourism market, travel figures and great economic connection, and the travelers of Pakistan are still utilizing the organized visa schemes.

To the citizens of Pakistan, travelling to Qatar is still highly possible - only under a controlled visa issuance system but not visa-free.

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