Qatar and Bahrain visas for UAE residents: who needs one and how to apply before a road trip

Why Qatar and Bahrain need their own visa check

Oman and Saudi Arabia have their own residents’ guides. Qatar and Bahrain are different in one way: you cannot reach either from the UAE without crossing Saudi Arabia on the road. A trip to Doha or Manama therefore needs two sets of papers, one for the Saudi leg and one for the destination.

Start with the overview in our UAE visas explained guide, then use this page for the two destinations.

Qatar: who needs a visa

Visit Qatar says citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE do not need a visa. Hayya says GCC nationals enter on a passport or GCC ID.

Everyone else applies on Hayya, Qatar’s entry platform. It lists:

• Tourist visa (A1). Visit Qatar gives QAR 100 for Hayya tourist visas and visas on arrival.
• GCC Resident visa (A2). Built for people who live in a GCC country. We could not read its conditions, fee or validity on the official pages, so confirm them on Hayya.

Other points from Visit Qatar:

• Passports need at least 3 months of validity from arrival.
• Some routes need a confirmed hotel booking.
• Visa on arrival is an airport process. Do not plan on it at the border.

Qatar by road: Hayya and the car

Hayya takes vehicle pre-registration to ease entry through the Abu Samra border. Visit Qatar does not give the steps. The crossing sits on Qatar’s 87 km land border with Saudi Arabia, which reopened on 4 January 2021 after a closure. The Salwa and Abu Samra guide covers the order of posts. Doha is about 695 km from Dubai by OSRM, before queues. See our UAE to Qatar transfer page.

Bahrain: eVisa, visa on arrival or guarantor

Bahrain’s NPRA runs the eVisa portal, and says it is the only official site. You enter your nationality in the eligibility tool, and it decides between:

1. an eVisa, applied for online;
2. a visa on arrival, with the warning that entry is not assured;
3. a guarantor route if your nationality is not on the eligible list. The guarantor can be an airline, your place of stay, a Bahraini travel agent, a Bahraini company or a Bahraini citizen.

NPRA says applications take approximately 3 to 5 working days. The processing fee is not refunded if the application is rejected. Extensions are handled at the NPRA main office in Manama or the MOI service centre in Muharraq. We did not find fees or the eligible-country list readable, so we do not quote them.

Bahrain by road: the causeway

After Saudi Arabia, the road reaches Bahrain over the 25 km King Fahd Causeway. Manama is about 837 km from Dubai by OSRM. Read the King Fahd Causeway guide for the border station on Passport Island. Our UAE to Bahrain page covers the trip.

The Saudi leg you cannot skip

Every passenger needs Saudi entry as well. Saudi rules, from the Ministry of Tourism, offer three routes: on arrival for listed nationalities, an eVisa, or an embassy visa. They also require a passport valid for 6 months and a fee of SAR 300. The German Embassy reported in March 2026 that Al Batha was open around the clock and that the eVisa was the faster way through. Our Saudi visa guide for UAE residents covers professions and residents.

Application order for a road trip

1. Check your passport validity: 6 months for Saudi Arabia, 3 months for Qatar.
2. Apply for the Saudi eVisa.
3. Apply on Hayya for Qatar, or through the Bahrain eVisa portal.
4. Confirm vehicle papers and Hayya pre-registration if you go to Doha.
5. Keep your UAE residence visa valid for the return date.

Compare the whole region in the Oman visa guide for UAE residents, or pilgrims can read the Umrah guide. Our cross-border transfers page lists the countries we drive to on request, and the visas page covers the rest.