For Indonesians in Qatar: passport, lapor diri and help from the Embassy of Indonesia in Doha

About 25,000 Indonesians live in Qatar, many in the energy sector around Al Khor and Ras Laffan, and the Embassy of Indonesia in Doha (KBRI Doha) is their main link to home. Since June 2020 the Embassy has been in Onaiza, not in New Salata where it stood for 21 years, so check any old address you find online. This guide starts with reporting your stay on the Peduli WNI portal, because the Embassy uses those records for passports, emergencies and life events. It then covers renewing or replacing your passport, the SPLP emergency travel document, registering a baby born in Qatar, work problems, recruitment and community life. Qatar-side tasks such as moving your residency to a new passport, salary complaints and repatriation have their own guides, linked in each step. Indonesian fees and procedures abroad change, so always confirm the current requirement and amount with the Embassy before you go.

Before you start

• Your Indonesian passport (even if expired or damaged) and a copy of the photo page
• Your NIK (16-digit national identity number) and your KTP-el identity card if you have one
• Your Qatar ID (QID) and a copy, as proof that you live in Qatar
• An email address and a working Qatar phone number for your Peduli WNI account
• Recent passport photos on a plain background; bring extras
• For a lost passport: the Qatar police report and a short signed statement of how it was lost
• For a baby born in Qatar: the Qatari birth certificate and both parents' passports and marriage certificate
• For a work problem: your contract, payslips or bank statements, and your employer's name and contact details
• The name and phone number of a family member in Indonesia to give as an emergency contact

Step by step

1. Find the Embassy and use the right address

   The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Doha, known in Indonesian as KBRI Doha, is at Plot 13, Street 943, Zone 66, Al Salmiya, in the Onaiza area. It moved there on 1 June 2020 after about 21 years in New Salata, and some directory websites still show the old address. The Embassy's official page is on the Indonesian Foreign Ministry site at kemlu.go.id/doha. Check it, and the Embassy's official social media, for opening hours, phone numbers, appointment rules and holiday closures before you go, because these change and third-party listings are often wrong. The current ambassador is H.E. Syahda Guruh Langkah Samudera.

2. Report your stay online (lapor diri)

   Indonesian law asks citizens living abroad to report their stay and important life events, and the Foreign Ministry's Peduli WNI portal (peduliwni.kemlu.go.id) lets you do it online in about five minutes, without visiting the Embassy. You sign up with your passport number or NIK, then add your Qatar address, phone number and an emergency contact. The Embassy uses this to find you in a crisis and to contact your family if you fall ill or die. The same portal is used to report births, marriages and deaths and to request some documents. Update it whenever you change address, phone number, passport or employer.

   Read guide: Emergencies in Qatar: who to call and where to go →

3. Renew your passport at the Embassy

   If your passport is expiring, apply through the Embassy in Doha rather than flying home. Bring your current passport, your NIK or KTP-el, your QID and copies, and ask the Embassy in advance what else it needs and whether it issues the electronic passport (e-paspor) or the standard one, because not every Indonesian mission abroad can print e-passports. Fees are set by Indonesian regulation (PP 45/2024, in force since December 2024) and missions abroad charge their own published local amount, so confirm the figure with the Embassy. Apply at least six months before expiry, because Qatar needs a valid passport to renew your residency.

   Read guide: Renew your Qatar ID →

4. Move your Qatar residency to the new passport

   A new Indonesian passport has a new number, while Qatar still has your residency linked to the old one. Until it is updated, airport immigration and some government services can show a mismatch. Ask your employer's PRO (the staff member who handles government paperwork) to transfer the residency details, or do it in the Metrash app if your sponsor allows it. Keep the old passport, since it may carry your visa history. The full process is in the update-passport-in-residency guide.

   Read guide: Got a new passport? Updating it in your Qatar residence record →

5. If your passport is lost or damaged

   First report the loss to the Qatar police and get a police report, as the lost-items-police-report guide explains. Then go to the Embassy with the report, a copy of the lost passport if you have one, your NIK or KTP-el and your QID, and ask for a replacement passport. Expect questions about how the passport was lost, and bring a short signed statement. If you must travel to Indonesia before a new passport can be issued, ask the Embassy about an SPLP (see the next step). Tell your employer, because your Qatar residency must later be moved to the new document.

   Read guide: Lost something in Qatar? Reporting it and getting it back →

6. Know when you need an SPLP

   An SPLP (Surat Perjalanan Laksana Paspor) is a travel document issued in place of a passport, mainly so an Indonesian without a valid passport can return to Indonesia. It is used after a lost or stolen passport when there is no time to wait for a new one, and in some repatriation cases. The Embassy decides when to issue it and what proof it needs. An SPLP is not a substitute for a passport for living in Qatar, so if you are staying, apply for a full passport instead. Your exit from Qatar must still be cleared on the Qatar side, which the leaving-qatar guide covers.

   Read guide: Leaving Qatar for good: a step-by-step exit checklist →

7. Register a baby born in Qatar

   A child born in Qatar first needs the Qatari birth certificate from the Ministry of Public Health and a Qatar residency on the parent's sponsorship; both are explained in the birth-certificate guide. For Indonesia, report the birth to the Embassy, which can be started on the Peduli WNI portal, so that your child has Indonesian civil records. After that, ask the Embassy about the child's first passport, and bring both parents' passports and your marriage certificate. Do this early: without an Indonesian passport the child's Qatar residency cannot be issued or renewed.

   Read guide: Newborn in Qatar: birth certificate, passport and residence permit →

8. Use the Embassy for documents and family matters

   Report marriages and deaths on Peduli WNI and with the Embassy, so your records in Indonesia stay correct. Qatari documents you want to use in Indonesia, such as a marriage certificate, normally need attestation by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs before the Embassy deals with them, and Indonesian certificates you use in Qatar need attestation the other way. The Qatar-side steps are in the marriage-certificate-attestation and power-of-attorney guides. Ask the Embassy about its fee and timing before you submit, and keep copies of everything.

   Read guide: Attesting marriage and birth certificates for Qatar →

9. Get help with work problems

   If your salary is late, your passport is being held or you are being mistreated, contact the Embassy, which can advise you and speak to your employer. A formal claim for unpaid salary or other rights must still be filed in Qatar with the Ministry of Labour, as the labour-complaint guide explains; the Embassy cannot decide a dispute itself. Keep copies of your contract, payslips and messages. In an emergency, call 999 first. Indonesia's Manpower Minister has also urged every Indonesian migrant worker to register with BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, the workers' social security programme, which can help you and your family if something goes wrong.

   Read guide: Filing a labour complaint in Qatar: unpaid salary and other disputes →

10. Check recruitment before a relative comes

    Indonesian recruitment for work abroad is overseen by the Ministry of Migrant Workers Protection (KP2MI, which took over from the agency known as BP2MI). Qatar's Ministry of Labour met the Indonesian minister in July 2025 to discuss recruiting skilled Indonesian workers. Placement of domestic workers with private households in Middle East countries, Qatar included, was banned by Indonesia in 2015, and the rules have been changing since, so check the current position with KP2MI before a relative accepts a housemaid or driver job. Use only licensed channels, never pay for a job that comes only through WhatsApp or social media, and never travel on a visit visa to work.

    Read guide: Domestic workers in Qatar: your rights and where to get help →

11. If someone dies or is in hospital

    If an Indonesian relative or colleague dies or is seriously ill in Qatar, inform the Embassy as soon as possible; it can contact the family in Indonesia and help with paperwork for repatriation. The Qatar-side steps for a death, including the death certificate and release of the body, are in the death-of-a-family-member guide. This is where an up-to-date emergency contact on Peduli WNI matters, because the Embassy uses it to reach the family quickly. Keep the person's passport, QID and employer details together.

    Read guide: When a family member dies in Qatar: certificates, repatriation and next steps →

12. Join community and Embassy events

    The Embassy runs community events through the year, such as Eid prayers, a Ramadan festival with contests for adults and children, iftar gatherings and the Independence Day flag-raising every 17 August. In 2021 there were 68 Indonesian community groups in Qatar, with PERMIQA (the Indonesian Community Association in Qatar, formed in 2001) as the umbrella group. These events are also where the Embassy shares notices, so they are a good way to stay informed. Follow the Embassy's official channels for dates.

Common mistakes

• Going to the old Embassy address in New Salata; the Embassy has been in Onaiza since June 2020.
• Never doing lapor diri on Peduli WNI, so the Embassy cannot reach you or your family in an emergency.
• Letting your passport run down to the last few months; Qatar residency renewal and travel both need a valid passport.
• Getting a new passport and forgetting to move your Qatar residency to the new number.
• Treating an SPLP as a normal passport; it is mainly for getting home, not for staying in Qatar.
• Leaving a baby born in Qatar without Indonesian papers, which blocks the child's Qatar residency.
• Expecting the Embassy to settle a salary dispute; the formal claim goes to Qatar's Ministry of Labour.
• Paying a recruitment agent in cash for a Qatar job without checking it with Indonesia's Ministry of Migrant Workers Protection.

Questions people ask

Official sources

• Embassy of Indonesia in Doha (official page) ↗
• Peduli WNI portal (lapor diri for Indonesians abroad) ↗
• Qatar Tribune: new Indonesian Embassy premises in Onaiza (June 2020) ↗
• The Peninsula: Indonesian Ramadan Festival and community size (March 2025) ↗
• The Peninsula: Manpower Minister meets Indonesian workers in Al Khor (Oct 2023) ↗
• Gulf Times: Qatar and Indonesia discuss labour cooperation (July 2025) ↗

Always check the official source before acting. QatarSteps is independent and not a government website.

Related guides