Muscat : As part of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s continuous attention to the welfare of the citizens of the Sultanate of Oman, His Majesty the Sultan held a meeting at Al Alam Palace with sheikhs of the governorates of Muscat, South Batinah and Musandam on Sunday.

His Majesty the Sultan issued a directive to cut down fees charged against the issuance and renewal of non-Omani manpower work permits.
This applies to government services aimed at boosting the business climate and upgrading the sultanate’s competitiveness in attracting investments and easing burden on the private sector.

A statement issued online by the Ministry of Labour said: “His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik gives his royal directives to reduce the fees for issuing and renewing licences for the recruitment of expat workforce, in line with the application of the government services pricing guide, as of June 1, 2022, which came as follows:

1. Reducing the fees of the expat workforce by more than 89 per cent for companies committed to Omanisation rates

2. Fees for issuing and renewing licences for the recruitment of expat commercial manpower:

A. First class from OMR 2001 to OMR 301 for two years and OMR 211 for meeting Omanisation percentage.
B. Second class from OMR 601-1001 to OMR 251 and OMR 176 in case of commitment to the Omanisation percentage.
C. Third class from OMR 301-361 to OMR 201 and OMR 141 if you meet the Omanisation percentage.)

Ahmed Al Junaibi from the Wilayat of Duqm in Al Wusta Governorate, said: “We welcome the royal directive regarding reduction in fees for expatriate workers.

This has been the demand of business owners, especially those of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), so as to ensure easy availability of expatriate workers.”

He added: “We hope that the companies operating in the Sultanate will benefit from the reduction in fees for expats, and they (the companies) will continue to appoint Omanis and open up job opportunities for them as well.”

The decision to reduce fees came at the right time, because of the economic situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision will come in handy for the foreign investors as well due to the freedom it will afford them to employ whoever they think will further their best interests in terms of the future growth of their enterprise. Naturally, the step will attract greater foreign investments in the Sultanate.