Qatar · Business & founder
Invest Qatar Entrepreneur and Executive Residency
This route runs through Invest Qatar. The Entrepreneur Residency calls for endorsement from an incubator rather than a large sum of capital. The Executive Residency, meanwhile, is aimed at senior management who already hold a QID.
At QAR 250,000, the entrepreneur route is by far the cheapest business residency in the Gulf. But the incubator endorsement gate is real, and it is discretionary. The 10-year executive route, meanwhile, is quietly one of the best-value Qatari statuses around, if you already hold a senior role in Doha.
Qualifying routes
The threshold is QAR 250,000, roughly USD 68,700, and the visa runs 5 years, renewable. You will need endorsement from a recognised incubator, such as QSTP, Qatar FinTech Hub, QBIC, or Scale7, plus a bank balance of QAR 36,500 (or USD 10,000 if you are applying from overseas). The government fee is QAR 5,000.
Existing QID holders can qualify for up to 10 years. CEOs, COOs, CTOs, CFOs and chairmen need a salary of QAR 50,000 per month. Other executive directors need QAR 80,000 per month. Either way, you will need 5 years of senior management experience.
The facts
- Minimum investment
- 250k QAR
- Total landed cost
- Entrepreneurs need QAR 250,000 in committed capital plus a QAR 5,000 government fee. The executive route requires no capital at all.
- Route type
- Business & founder
- Timeline
- 2–6 months (This route is gated on incubator endorsement, and there is no set timeline for getting one.)
- Physical presence
- Not published. The executive route assumes you already hold a Qatar-based role.
- Family
- SpouseChildren under 18 qualify. Sons can stay on until 25 if they are studying, and unmarried daughters are eligible regardless of age
- Permanent residency
- There is no direct route to permanent residency. Time spent here may count toward the 20-year threshold set out in Law 10/2018.
- Citizenship
- Realistically, none.
- Language test
- Not applicable
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted. You would have to renounce.
- Requirements
- Incubator endorsement, for the entrepreneur route.A bank balance of QAR 36,500, or USD 10,000 if it is coming from overseas.A qualifying salary and 5 years of senior experience, for the executive route.A clean criminal record.
- Incubator endorsement is discretionary. There is no published objective test, and no appeal if you are turned down.
- A separate 10-year Entrepreneur Residency was announced by the Prime Minister at Web Summit Qatar on 2 February 2026, but it is not open yet. Officials have said further circulars will come before launch, and no implementation date exists. Do not let anyone sell you this.
- The executive route depends on you keeping the qualifying role and salary. Lose either, and you lose your status.
- Qatar's startup ecosystem is small, and incubator capacity is a genuine bottleneck.