Oman Announces Major Job Restrictions, Bans Expats from Certain Roles in Sales, Engineering, and Tourism
Oman has introduced new employment laws that prohibit expatriate workers from holding certain positions in the country, as part of its efforts to prioritize job opportunities for Omani citizens.
Jobs such as web designers, travel agents, hotel reception managers, and marketing specialists will now be restricted to Omani nationals. This decision was announced by the Ministry of Labour under Ministerial Decision No. 501/2024, amending previous regulations outlined in Ministerial Decision No. 235/2022 regarding employment practices in specific professions.
Jobs Prohibited for Expats:
The following professions are now reserved exclusively for Omani citizens:
- Truck drivers transporting food and medical supplies (refrigerated)
- Truck drivers transporting water
- Hotel reception managers
- Lifeguards
- Tourist agents
- Travel agents
- Room service supervisors
- Quality control managers
- Electrical and mechanical technicians (general maintenance)
- Drilling fluid engineers
- Aircraft loading supervisors
- Marketing specialists
- New and used vehicle salespeople
- Information systems network specialists
These regulations take effect immediately, with some additional professions set to be restricted between January 2025 and January 2027, including computer programmers, electronic engineers, and operations analysts.
Changes to Foreign Investment Laws
In addition to the employment restrictions, Oman has also revised its foreign investment rules, barring foreigners from 28 additional categories of business activities. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion issued an update to Ministerial Decision No. 209/2020, specifying that these activities are now exclusive to Omani investors.
This decision is in line with Article 14 of the Foreign Capital Investment Law, which aims to balance the attraction of high-quality investments while promoting Omani entrepreneurship. The government is also supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as part of this strategy, creating more job opportunities for Omani citizens.
