Minimum salary needed to bring expat families slashed

Muscat: Oman has reduced the minimum salary requirement for expat workers to bring family with them.

Confirming this, a senior official of the Royal Oman Police (ROP), said the salary ceiling for family visas has been reduced by more than 50%.

“Now expats earning over OMR150 can bring their family in Oman,” an official said.

Previously, expatriates needed to earn OMR350 a month to obtain visas for family members.

Now expatriates only need to earn OMR150 and above per month to qualify for a dependent visa.

Officials also said that sponsors can also decide on the family status. “Sometimes they are in a better position to decide whether they can support their family in Oman,” the official said.

Experts said that this will boost the local economy. “Whatever expats will spend in Oman will boost the economy,” Mohammed Al Wardi, an academic and economic analyst, said.

He also said that expatriates play a big role and are indispensable when it comes to boosting the economy. “Losing expatriates, some of whom are experts in their field after COVID was not good,” another expert said.

Even the expats hailed this move. Raju, an Indian national employed in the private sector, said that he was really happy as it was tough to live without his family. “Now I can think of bringing my family,” he said, who earns around OMR 225 per month.

The minimum monthly income rule for ‘family joining visa’ was introduced by Oman in 2011.

Oman’s population stood at 4,975,562 of which 42.21% were expats on February 14,2023.