Qatar has laid out the road to the World Cup for football fans aiming to drive to the global event.
The country's Ministry of Interior has confirmed entry procedures for 24-hour and five-day stays during the sporting event through the Abu Samra land border crossing with Saudi Arabia.
The procedures will be in place from November 1 until December 23, covering the entirety of the tournament, which will be held from November 20 to December 18.
Although shuttle flights remain the most popular form of travel — with about 5,000 extra flights by flydubai and Qatar Airways scheduled between the UAE and Doha — many people are planning to spend hours making the 700-kilometre desert drive from Dubai and the 600km trek from Abu Dhabi.
People making day trips to the event will not be allowed to enter the country via private car unless they have a Qatar-registered vehicle, but can instead use park-and-ride facilities at the Abu Samra border, completing the final 90km of the journey by bus.
Pre-registration opened for motorists on Saturday, October 15, with drivers required to notify the host nation they will be bringing their vehicles into the country.
The new travel rules offer several ways to enjoy the football festival in Qatar.
Cars with Qatari plates
Citizens, residents and GCC citizens who hold a Qatari ID card and have a car with Qatari plates can enter through the border as usual without needing a Hayya card, which will act as an entry visa for football fans during the event and is needed to secure match tickets.
One-day stays
Those attending one or more matches in 24 hours and do not require a hotel reservation must hold a one-day fan category Hayya card and pre-book a parking space through the Hayya platform before arrival.
Parking is free for the first 24 hours, with a charge of 1,000 Qatari riyals for a second day. Vehicles will be towed and another QR1,000 charge will be imposed if the car remains parked for more than 48 hours after entry.
Free buses will transport fans on the 2km route from the Abu Samra checkpoint to the Friends Meet and Greet Area in Al Qalayel. Public transport will also connect them with Doha Central Station in Al Messila, about 90km away.
The parking reservation service is open from November 1.
Commercial vehicles looking to enter the country will be restricted during the tournament between 11pm and 6am to prioritise fan traffic. This will be in place from November 15 until December 22.
All payments for parking can be made via the Hayya app.
The Abu Samra border crossing with Saudi Arabia has been expanded to welcome fans, with improved facilities, free parking and a capacity to receive 4,000 travellers every hour.
So far, the organising committee said more than 1.5 million people have applied for a Hayya card for the tournament.
How to enter Doha without Qatari car registration
Exceptional vehicle entry permits must be applied for in advance via the official Hayya online platform. A link will then be sent to purchase required insurance to drive in the country.
The driver must also have confirmed accommodation approved through Hayya for five nights.
There must be a minimum of three people travelling in the vehicle and a maximum of six, all of whom must have a Hayya card.
A non-refundable QAR 5,000 (Dh5,043) fee must be paid within 24 hours to complete the process.
Permits are single entry only, and repeat visits can only be completed with a secondary application.
International fans that already have a Hayya card can invite three fans to attend the tournament without a ticket.
Non-ticketed fans applying through a Hayya with Me (1+3) voucher can be any age, must hold a valid passport, but cannot be Qatar ID holders.
Travel will not be allowed on the A and B ring roads or connecting intersections.
Can I take the bus?
Fans staying in nearby Saudi Arabia will be able to take a bus into Qatar, as long as they are in possession of a Hayya card.
After checking in at the arrivals hall, a connecting bus can be taken into central Doha.
High demand for World Cup road trips
“Many people coming from overseas do not want to take shuttle flights,” said Mercedes Basutto, an agent with Travel Counsellors who has visited Qatar twice in recent weeks to understand the needs of supporters and tourists during the tournament.
“They want to rent a car and cross the border, it will take them around seven hours or so, but it is not an easy process.
“Thousands of people will not have booked shuttle flights, so there will be plenty who plan to drive across.”
Hayya has been expanded to allow entry into Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced holders can obtain a free electronic visa to enter the kingdom.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
