Oman Expat News

Oman boasts one of the largest expat populations anywhere in the world; the Times of Oman records that over 1.7 million expats currently reside within Oman. Most of these have been drawn by the opportunities for work that exist there, where low salaries or unemployment in their home country make Oman a tempting destination. The majority of expats living in Oman hail from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, while Moroccans, Jordanians and Filipinos also feature prominently. That said, as reported here at Expatriate Healthcare in ... Read more

Oman boasts over 1.7 million expats living and working within its borders. And while many of these expats provide essential services, there has long been debate about the effects of this expatriate workforce on the native population. A number of high-ranking officials in the Omani government have claimed over the years that this expat population is robbing local workers of job vacancies. Just as bad, these expat workers are then filtering their salaries back out of the country in the form of ... Read more

Like many of the Gulf States, Oman is a key employer of expatriate workers from across the globe. Every year it welcomes vast numbers of workers from overseas, and maintains an expat work force totalling 1.7 million. While these workers form an important part of the Omani economy, concerns have been raised over the years about foreign workers outcompeting native employees when it comes to securing jobs. This concern has slowly led to a number of government policies over the last few ... Read more

Over the last few months Oman has been fighting an ongoing battle with the vast numbers of illegal expat workers present within its borders. A number of initiatives have been introduced recently to reduce the incidence of illegal workers and to encourage expat workers with expired visas to leave the country without penalty. Now, though, the government is cracking down, penalizing both workers and employers where work being done isn’t approved. When a foreign worker gains approval to work in Oman, their ... Read more

Oman has one of the largest expatriate populations anywhere in the world. No wonder then that over the last few months we have repeatedly reported changes (and potential changes) to the rules surrounding expats. This month more changes have been approved; this time they will affect expat housing. Broadly speaking the new rules outlaw the sharing of properties in Oman. Until recently many expatriate workers have sought to avoid the rapidly-rising costs of rent in the Kingdom by squeezing ever more people ... Read more

However despite these new rules many expats have yet to leave, and the Omani government seems to getting impatient. Targets that have been set for the optimum expat population are some way from being reached. Drug-related offences will result in an automatic ban from any subscribing member while all other reasons will be treated on a case-by-case basis. That said, the fact that an official will have to personally consider your case means likely delays for those found lacking. In addition, scrutiny ... Read more

All is not well in Oman at present. Falling oil prices - which currently sit 20% lower than their high earlier on in 2014 - are a major cause for concern for a country in which oil makes up the vast majority of exports. In the absence of a considerable rebound in the near future, the public purse is likely to start feeling the strain in Oman shortly. As a result of this potential shortfall new revenue-generation models are being considered, particularly in relation to new sources of ... Read more