Oman to have new visa rules from March

Visitors to Oman will hereafter apply for a tourist visa online in advance from 21 March. Earlier, visitors could secure a visa on arrival at the port of entry through the e-visa system introduced in 2017.

On 21 February, the government of the Sultanate of Oman announced that with immediate effect, travellers can apply for tourist visas, including express visas, only through the website http://evisa.rop.gov.om, and the visa service desks will not receive them.

The fee for a tourist visa was also hiked in 2017 from $13 (5 Omani rials) to $51.95 (20 Omani rials), and the visa would be valid for staying for up to one month. How the new rules would impact the residents of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) is not yet known.

It was stated on the Royal Oman Police (ROP) website that to obtain an e-visa, travellers need to register with a username and password, and then opt for their choice of visa before payment.

Oman’s Ministry of Tourism will have a closed meeting with the tour operators on 25 February in Khasab to talk about the new procedures.

Arundas Haridas, the operations manager at Dolphin Khasab Tours, was quoted by The National as saying that there were many travellers visiting the area just for a day. It will surely pose a major problem for all the tour operators.

Karen Aguirre, a reservations executive at Al Marsa Travel & Tourism, did not expect new rules to affect the coastal town of Dibba, which is accessible only from the UAE and where for entry, tourists visas are not needed.

If you are looking to travel to Oman, talk to Y-Axis, the world’s no.1 immigration and visa company, to apply for a tourist visa.