By Vinod Nair — MUSCAT: APRIL 23 - The Ministry of Tourism on Sunday said it is focusing on the emerging markets of Russia, China, Iran and India to attract inbound tourists even as amendments were made to the existing tourist visa rules. Amendments were made to the tourist visa rules under the Foreign Residency Law, which was published in the official gazette through a decree 77/2017. The decree made following changes to the Article 10 3/A: Tourist visas will be granted by a competent authority to foreigners (from specified countries) who wish to visit the Sultanate. The holder of this visa will be entitled to stay in the country for a month, extendable for a similar period. Visa fee is RO 20.
Visas will be granted at an authorised port of entry or can be obtained from the Sultanate’s representatives abroad.
Visas can be granted by the competent authority to the nationals of the specified states at the request of an authorised local operator in return for a financial guarantee determined by the competent authority.
Article 10, 3 (A) had included visit visa granted to relatives and friends of Oman at his request and under his sponsorship, as well as to the relatives of the foreigner residing in the country under their responsibility.
The visa entitles the holder to stay in the country for a period of three months and can be extended for a period of not more than one month.
According to Issa bin Sultan al Ismaili, Executive Director, Oman World Tourism, the new element is that three to five star hotels will be able to process visas for tourists from the emerging markets of Russia, China, Iran and India. “Efforts have been now made to streamline the process. Tour operators were always allowed to process after depositing a certain amount.”
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