Why government rise Oman visa cost of hiring foreigners?

The government of Oman has announced that it will charge higher fees for companies seeking employment to the foreign nationals into their workforce. The employment Oman visa cost will be even higher depending on the seniority of the position that the company may want to hire.

The Ministry has drawn up some measures to enable Omani nationals to have the opportunity easily, particularly in the private sectors. The government is disclosing these measures next week, however, there is clear that it makes it harder and costlier for private companies if they want to hire foreign nationals.

Private institutions have faced the uncertain future of their businesses due to the global pandemic. It will take time for the company to recover fully, experts have predicted that the affected companies will not recover fully until 2022.

What has the new Oman visa cost? 

The new changes in the labour law and civil service law in Oman has defined the following fees;

1.  In top positions: OMR2,001 ($5,204)
2.  In a mid-level role: OMR1,001 ($2,603)
3. For specialized and technical professions: OMR601 ($1,563)
4. For the role of a fisherman: OMR361 ($939)

Why Oman raised the cost of the work visa? 

The cause of the pandemic, where 16% of foreign workers have returned their home, but, the real reason for hiking the cost of visas for foreign workers are;

1. Many Omani have lost their jobs, while companies are entrenching their employees to reduce the company’s operating costs.
2. The government wants private companies to hire locals because they love hiring cheap laborers from developing nations.
3. Omanisation is one of the primary concerns for the government. It has followed the other gulf nations, they have already localized specific roles for the locals.
4.  Top/senior level, middle level, and technical and specialized roles are targeted by the government mean these positions need to be reserved for the Omani.
5. Oman wants to reduce its dependence on foreign nationals for its economic development.

Although the cost of the work visa for Oman has raised, it will not affect the low-level jobs because Omanis do not have the interest to perform these types of taskes.