2years for Expat Working in Oman

The local media channels where all abuzz this morning about the news of change in employment visa in Oman.

Accordingly to the news article featured in the Times of Oman, it states the following:

"Royal Oman Police (ROP) has said no employment visa will be issued after July 1, 2014 to any foreigner who previously worked in the Sultanate and has not completed two years from the date of last departure, in keeping with the requirements of expatriates residency law and its implementing regulations.
The step is being taken in coordination with the authorities concerned with recruitment of foreigners"

Its interesting to note that the news article was quick to label the information as a "ban". The visa law is not considered as a ban as such, but more of an enforcement of this particular regulation. It has been in existence for a long time but that its actually going to be fully enforced to the foreign recruitment as of the date mentioned.

The alternative method was to head over to our neighboring country for a short break, which the job transfer documents are being processed for those who were recruited to new jobs. With the enforcement of the rule there would be able to control over the situation.

http://www.rop.gov.om/pdfs/roplaws/arabic/ROPRULE-6.pdf

Omani authorities with the extension of the ROP are becoming increasingly strict about the employment of foreign nationals. Foreign expats require significant skills and employment experience to be assured of being granted an employment visa to Oman.

In some cases, the authorities will need to be convinced that the position could not adequately be filled by an Omani citizen.

"....the growth rate of the national workforce in the past three years amounted to 2.8%, while the rate has exceeded the growth of the labor inflows this rate five times where it reached 14.4% during the same period, the growth rate of expatriate labor force in Al Buraimi Governorate 16.5% offset by 8.3% national workforce" Translated from Oman Arabic Newspaper

Yes, we all know that we can blame the educational system in Oman....
That the local community doesn't have the knowledge and skills to sustain certain jobs but I beg to differ. There are a "bunch" that are actually excelling in various fields, and don't get the chance to prove their abilities due to lack of opportunity or the like.

This is coming from the prospective of  an Omani to see the flip side read about it on Muscat Muttering and the Ministry of Information FAQ page "How do I get a visa to come to Oman? ROP Website on Visa Type Information

ايش اللقطه
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