Where can I buy Alcohol in Qatar?
14 October 2011
Hello, we are off to Qatar! Quite exciting, quite nerve-wracking. I will have lots of questions, and here is the first: where can we buy alchohol in Qatar? I assume can can drink alcohol at home, but perhaps not in restaurants - what is the law, and what is acceptable in practice? I can't imagine two years in the despert without a drink! Also, our stuff is on the way out to Doha - and I packed a couple of crates of wine in amongst our other stuff, is this going to be ok, or will I get arrested on arrival!? Seriously, I am now a little worried about this. Please help.
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If you want to drink alchohol in the Qatar, you'll also need to license yourself appropriately. Apply for an alchohol license once you have your residency permit squared away, it's a simple matter of completing paperwork and paying the fee. There's only one place in Doha to purchase alcohol outside of restaurants, it's the Qatar Distribution Center, just adjacent to the Department of Islamic Affairs (ironic, I know).
The selection is pretty decent, but again, you'll pay.
Alcoholic beverages are prohibited from import into Qatar, so your cases of wine will be confiscated, but you'll likely not face arrest. In the future though, be sure to check out custom's procedures before you ship. For a quick overview you can consult the Expat Arrivals Shipping and Removals to Qatar page.
There are western hotels that will serve alcohol, including several that actually cater to Qataris that want to drink.
If you have access to one of the U.S. Military installations there are clubs on those bases that will serve beer.
Other then that I'm really not sure. I've spent a fair amount of time there but never actually lived there ...
I know a lot of folks make homemade wine too. Really easy by the way.
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