Qatar and the Netherlands at a glance
- Stamp
- Legalisation
- First stop
- First the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the Embassy of the Netherlands in Doha
- Language
- Arabic, sworn translation
- Register
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- Tax treaty
- Signed 2008, in force 2009 (Rijksoverheid, 1 October 2026)
- EU trade
- Gulf free trade talks suspended since 2008
- In the Netherlands
- 10 companies controlled from Qatar in 2024, 10 in 2021 (CBS, 9 October 2026)
- Moving here
- Residence permit needed
Documents from Qatar
Passport copy, certified by a notary in Qatar.
Proof of address in Qatar, at most three months old.
Power of attorney. Sign the power of attorney before a Qatari notary (Ministry of Justice).
Ownership statement, one page from us.
Legalisation. First the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the Embassy of the Netherlands in Doha. You book the embassy appointment online, and the embassy takes up to two working days. Arabic documents need a sworn translation.
Good to know. You need two legalisation steps and a translation. Allow four to six weeks.
If a company from Qatar becomes a shareholder
Register extract, at most three months old: Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Order the Commercial Registration (CR), the commercial permit and the articles of association. Plus articles, signing authority and ownership chart.
Qatar and the EU: trade and tax
The EU is the largest source of Qatar’s imports, with more than 20% of the total (EEAS). Relations rest on the EU-GCC Cooperation Agreement of 1988, a cooperation arrangement signed with Qatar in March 2018, and an EU Delegation in Doha that opened in September 2022.
The first summit between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council took place in Brussels in October 2024, while Qatar chaired the council. Since July 2025 the EU has a mandate to negotiate a bilateral partnership agreement with Qatar, one of six such mandates for the Gulf states (European Commission).
For Qatari investors the Dutch tax treaty matters most. A Qatari company with at least 7.5% of the shares in a Dutch company receives dividends at 0%, and other shareholders at up to 10%. For property in Europe, see Qatari investment in European property: the Dutch structure. Families can read relocating your family from Qatar.
Your next step from Qatar
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