Doha

Doha has two large French schools, from nursery to final year: Lycée Bonaparte, AEFE-affiliated, in West Bay, and the partner Franco-Qatari Lycée Voltaire, on three campuses (Al Waab, Salwa, West Bay). Both are often full in key entry years: contact them as soon as the move is confirmed, and choose housing according to the campus. Fees are detailed on /en/cities/doha/school-fees/.

Yes, means-tested, for a French child at an accredited school. Apply to the embassy's consular section between January and March for the following school year, on the Scolaide platform; a second round in the autumn mainly concerns families who arrived after the deadline. Parent and child must be on the French consular register.

Yes: since Law No. 22 of 2021, health insurance is mandatory for all expats and visitors, and employers must insure foreign staff with an approved insurer. Before signing, check what is provided for the spouse and children, maternity included. Full details on /en/cities/doha/health/.

For a life-threatening emergency, call 999. For a child under 14, Hamad's paediatric emergency centres (Al Sadd, Al Rayyan, Airport, Al Wakra...) are open 24/7, and Sidra Medicine treats children aged 0 to 18 day and night. Hamad also has a paediatric emergency hotline on +974 4439 6066.

Yes: the French embassy publishes a list of French-speaking health professionals, with a paediatrician, a GP (the embassy's medical adviser), a home-visit doctor service, a gynaecologist, a dentist and several specialists. We list them on our health page: /en/cities/doha/health/.

Not straight away for a yearly lease: you first need the residence permit and QID. Plan a serviced apartment for the first weeks, then rent with passport, QID and employment contract; rent is often paid with post-dated cheques, and a bounced cheque is a criminal offence in Qatar. Neighbourhoods are detailed on /en/cities/doha/settling-in/.

The residence permit, with a medical test for each family member, then the QID: without it, no bank account, lease, car or school enrolment. Then come the health card, a mobile line in your name, exchanging your driving licence and online registration with the French consular register. Our Settling in page sets it all out in order: /en/cities/doha/settling-in/.

On a short stay, yes, for two weeks (six months with an international licence). As a resident, you must exchange it for a Qatari licence at the Traffic Department in Madinat Khalifa, with your licence and QID; while waiting for the QID, a temporary licence of up to three months can be requested within 7 days of arrival.

Yes, it is common in Doha, but tightly regulated: Law No. 15 of 2017 on domestic workers, nannies included, requires a written contract approved by the Ministry of Labour, setting out the job, salary and conditions, and bans deducting recruitment costs from wages. The family sponsors the employee, who gets her own residence permit; use a licensed agency.

No: Arabic is the official language, but English covers daily life, at the hospital as in public offices and shops. To get started, the Institut français du Qatar offers Arabic classes at all levels, as well as French classes and workshops to keep the language alive for children.

Some medicines containing opiates, such as Tramadol or morphine derivatives, are banned and treated as narcotics, even with a French prescription. Ask your doctor for an alternative before leaving, and travel with your medicines in their original box and an English prescription showing the INN.

Doha Accueil, part of the FIAFE network, holds a drop-in every Sunday morning in West Bay and organises breakfasts and workshops. French-speaking sports clubs (Blue Falcons for rugby, Blue Tigers for judo), the lycées and the Ma Baguette à Doha newsletter complete the picture. Our outing ideas are on /en/cities/doha/family-outings/.