Manama: Qatar's May 1 plan to scrap its visa-on-arrival facility for nationals of 33 countries, including the US and the UK, has been delayed.

Qatar last month announced plans that it would change the rule and apply a visa reciprocity system that would affect the nationals of countries that did not offer Qataris visas upon their arrival.

Under the planned system, nationals from countries that impose pre-arrival visas on Qataris will have to get their visas from Qatari embassies regardless of the purpose of their visit.

The change was scheduled for May 1, but several countries whose nationals would be affected by the new rule, have requested more time from Qatar's foreign ministry before its implementation, Qatar News Agency (QNA) said.

A foreign ministry official said that the requests were being studied.

“It has, therefore, been decided that the existing visa-on-arrival scheme at the Doha International Airport for the citizens of the 33 countries will remain unchanged," the official was quoted as saying.

"The mutual visa agreements that Qatar has with a number of countries will remain in force."

News that the new visa scheme would not be implemented next month would be a huge relief for hotels and the tourism industry and were hailed by British expatriates.

According to Qatari daily Gulf Times, Jane Ashford, general manager of company formation specialists, Links Group, described the latest development as “good news”, claiming that it would help to avoid the potential slowdown of business development.

She explained that it took a number of trips before the final decision to open a business was made and companies might well overlook Qatar as a potential destination if visas became a complicated issue.

Ashford was quoted assaying that she had been inundated with calls from people trying to ascertain exactly what the situation was, and expressed her relief that the current regulations were set to remain in place for the foreseeable future.

British expatriate Amy McCaskill expressed her pleasure at hearing that the new regulations would not be imposed on May 1.

“I think it’s fantastic! This is brilliant for people with family and friends who want to visit, as it makes it so much easier for them,” she told the Qatari daily.

“My parents lived here for three years, and would have had to travel from Scotland to London to get a new visa, now they can come back hassle-free. I think businesses will benefit from this as it makes it less complicated to bring people here at short notice, and it should also help Qatar develop tourism.”