Oman

Foreign investors and retirees can obtain long term residency rights in the Sultanate.

Ministerial Decision 115/2020 states the authorization to bring in non-Omani workers to private sector establishments working in the cleaning sector shall be in accordance with the requirements: The employer must be fully devoted to the management of the facility, insured with the General Authority for Social Security, hold a valid leadership card, and provide valid specified documents.

Ministerial Decision 157/2020 amends Article 24 of the Executive Regulations of the Foreigners’ Residence Act in which it states: “A foreigner’s residence permit may be transferred from one employer to another, given that they have acquired a license to recruit workers, provided that proof of end or termination of contract is submitted, and evidence indicating the approval of the competent government authority on the second employer’s contract with the foreigner, in according with the regulations specific to the competent authority. The transfer of the residency of the foreigner entails the transfer of the residency of his family members to the second employer when the necessary conditions for their residency are fulfilled.”

The percentage of the national workforce in the private sector establishments working in the fisheries sector is determined by the ministerial decision according to a schedule that progresses yearly. For example, in coastal fishing and trade, the percentage of national workers is to be 15% in 2020, 17% in 2021, 20% in 2022, 23% in 2023, and 25% in 2024.

The percentage of the national workforce in the private sector establishments working in the mining sector is determined by the ministerial decision according to a schedule that progresses yearly.

The ministerial decision sets regulations for the recruitment of non-Omani workers in the sector of carpentry, blacksmithing, and aluminum work, stating that the permission to recruit a non-Omani worker is given on a temporary basis and shall be in accordance with the project agreement and the value of the project, provided that the employer pledges to deport the authorized workers after the project ends, or to renew their work permits after submitting another project agreement or extending the original agreement.

The ministerial decision states that land and real estate that non-Omanis are prohibited from owning in the Sultanate must be specified as follows: Agricultural lands in all provinces; or Other lands and real estate in the governorates, states and mountains specified in Article 1 of the law, as well as in all islands in the Sultanate, and in the surroundings of palaces, headquarters of security and military authorities specified under the text of Article 2, and in the heritage and old neighborhoods specified by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture; this does not include land and real estate located in finished tourist housing compounds.

The ministerial decree specifies a framework for the recruitment of non-Omani workers and for bringing them into to the country to work in the construction and brick-making sector according to specified quotas.

Changes were made to Oman’s Law on the Control of Communicable Diseases as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The additions reiterated the need for all residents infected with a communicable disease to receive medical care and treatment in government treatment facilities. Failure to do so by any foreigners or foreigners caught in activities that risk the spread of listed communicable diseases are subject to possible deportation from the country. Additional articles established the requirement for individuals entering the country who are infected or suspected of being infected to notify this information to authorities and also the right of the Ministry of Health to subject individuals to necessary procedures to combat communicable diseases such as quarantining the individual and his or her luggage.

Oman signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which states all peoples to certain rights.