Qatar is to shut its borders to anyone not attending the World Cup, between November 1 and December 23.
All land, sea and air borders will effectively to be shut to anyone not holding the Hayya Card – the fan ID issued by the government to anyone attending matches during the World Cup.
The event begins on November 20 and ends of December 18, and Hayya Card holders can stay in the country until January 23.
The closure will not affect Qatari citizens, residents, GCC citizens holding a Qatari ID card, and anyone with a personal or work visa.
But it means anyone planning to visit the country for tourism purposes not related to the World Cup will not be able to enter.
FIFA has sold 2.45 million of the three million tickets available, with thousands of fans expected to start arriving from mid-November.
The World Cup’s first match on November 20 will feature the hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador, while England play Iran the following day.
Although borders will be closed to non-soccer fans, hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected in nearby cities such as Dubai, which is building fanzones to accommodate them.
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