The Royal Oman Police have announced a new e-visa system is going to be launched. Applicants will be able to apply through their website and will be available to all countries and nationalities. It is going to be linked to relevant ministries, including the Manpower Ministry for work-permits, the Commerce and Industry Ministry to validate commercial register entries and the Civil Service Ministry for Government visas for foreign civil servants. The aim is to have two visa types. One will be for 67 tourist countries and 116 professions. Another list will be for GCC residents.

The Deputy Chairman of Oman’s Shoura Council, Mohammed Al Ghassani has suggested Oman is considering plans to allow foreigners to buy property outside of integrated tourism complexes if they meet certain conditions. The aim would be to boost the housing market and the economy. Foreigners can currently only buy property in defined tourism communities.

Oman’s Government is considering adopting a governance structure as part of plans to open the door for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the Sultanate. A new PPP law has already been drafted and is likely to be enacted soon. It could adopt some of the existing bodies and functions under the existing Privatisation Law. It also sets out a legal framework for the procurement of PPP projects in the country.