Times of Oman: Muscat: Expatriates who currently face a two-year ban on their return to Oman after having left a job in the Sultanate can return on a tourist visa, or one granted to join a family, visitor or investor visa, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) has clarified. An expatriate who leaves his job without having obtained a No Objection Certificate (NOC) can come back to the Sultanate using a tourist, family joining, visitor or investor visa, said an official source at the ROP. The investor visa is granted to an expatriate who invests in Oman and receives a certification of approval from the concerned authority. The investor visa is valid for six months from the date of the visa stamped on the passport. Subsequent to the verification of investment he has made, he is granted a two-year residence permit which is subject to approval by the concerned authority. The visa allows multiple entries to the country. The investor or the partner has to obtain an approval for investing in the Sultanate from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, stated the ROP website. While a visitor visa is granted to the relatives and friends of an Omani national or an expatriate who is resident in Oman at the request of and on the responsibility of his sponsor, a family joining visa is granted to the wife of the foreigner, who is a resident in Oman, as also to his children who are below the age of 21 years. A tourist visa is granted by the concerned authority to those foreigners who wish to visit the Sultanate for tourism purposes. The clarification that expatriates who had quit their jobs can re-enter Oman with these visas has come at a time when confusion prevailed over the two-year visa ban decision. The ban, which came into effect on July 1, bars any expatriate worker from joining another company unless he has an NOC and a minimum of two years have elapsed since his date of departure from the Sultanate. This clarification on the part of the ROP makes it clear that expatriates who had quit their jobs can return with these visas. It means that a wife who quit her job can come back to Oman on a family joining visa and others can return on a visitor, investor or tourism visas. However, expatriates cannot take up jobs when they enter the country with these visas. The officials also explained that expatriates who resigned and left the Sultanate before the implementation of the two-year ban are still required to obtain an NOC from their previous employers. The ROP source also said the two year period referred to in the decision does not refer to the two years of contract that the expats sign. It doesnt matter if the employee completes the two years of contract or not. Once the expat leaves his job, irrespective of whether he has completed two days or two years of his contract period, he must spend two years outside Oman to join another job in Oman in case he didnt obtain NOC letter from first employer. Recently, an ROP official had clarified there was no plan to delay the implementation of the ban on return of expat workers. There is no official communication from authorities on any change in the rule that came into effect recently, said the senior official. There had been much talk on social media that the two-year ban on the return of expatriate workers will come to an end soon.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 05:12:45 +0000
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