GAS-rich Qatar has become the second Muslimmajority nation in the world to join a programme that allows its citizens to travel to the US visa free. Qatari citizens to travel to the US without a visa for up to 90 days.
According to The Associated Press, the Department of State and Homeland Security announced that Qatar successfully met the stringent criteria for the visa waiver programme, which includes maintaining a low rate of visa refusals and overstays, as well as ensuring reciprocal treatment for American travellers, who can visit Qatar visa-free for up to 30 days.
It said on September 24 that the Gulf monarchy cleared the “stringent security requirements” to become the 42nd member of the US’s visa waiver programme.
The agreement “will deepen our strategic partnership and enhance the flow of people and commerce between our two countries,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Qatar’s population stands at just 2.6 million, of whom only a tiny fraction – around 313,000 – are citizens. The US visa waiver programme is mainly reserved for wealthy western European and Asian states. Israel was added to the programme last year, according to Middle East Eye.
Qatar has a GDP per capita of $87,661, which is roughly $10,000 above the US’s. US officials said they were open to other Gulf Arab nations eventually entering the programme. The only other Muslim-majority country in the programme is the Southeast Asian nation of Brunei.
Qatar is also a key US ally. It is home to al-Udeid, the largest US air base in the Middle East and the forward operating headquarters of all US forces in the region also known as Centcom. Roughly 10,000 US troops are based in Qatar, it said.
In January, the Biden administration reached a deal to extend its stay at the base for another 10 years. Qatar remained close to Republican and Democratic administrations by demonstrating its value to the US.
It helped the US fly out thousands of Afghan allies as the Taliban seized control of the country. More recently, it has mediated alongside Egypt for an elusive ceasefire in Gaza. While Qatar enjoyed good ties with the Biden administration, it has come under some pressure from members of Congress who are irked by its relationship with Hamas.
