Omanis to get 10-year extended American visa

MUSCAT, JUNE 26 - The Sultanate and the United States on Wednesday announced the extension of business and tourist visas validity for Omani citizens travelling to the US for a period of 10 years instead of the current two-year period, the highest period that can be granted to any visitor to the US. The new facility also includes extension of official visas to five years instead of two and applying the principle of reciprocity to US citizens. This was announced during a joint press conference by Mohammed bin Awadh al Hassan, Permanent Representative of the Sultanate to the United Nations (UN), and Marc J Sievers, US Ambassador to the Sultanate, at the Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Institute on Wednesday.

Dr Al Hassan said that the move reflects the strong and friendly relations between the two governments and peoples. He added that many countries are looking to obtain this advantage and rarely get it, stressing that such measures would facilitate the entry of US investors to the Sultanate within the framework to activate terms of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the convention on the transfer of science and technology between the two countries. “It will also facilitate the progress being made in tourism, business and investment sectors,” he said. According to Dr Al Hassan, the new facility will support the free trade agreement between the two countries.

“This move will facilitate many aspects of trade, tourism and investment. It will also have a very positive impact on both sides. It is the continuation of previous steps aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries to be followed by subsequent steps,” he said. Present at the event was Marc J Sievers, US Ambassador to Oman, who also pointed out that the diplomatic visa is extended to five years, which indicates the strong historical and diplomatic relations dated back to 1840. Dr Al Hassan mentioned that the students’ visa doesn’t follow the same procedures because they are engaged with a specific duration and separate college’s rules and standards.

The ambassador said that the Sultanate is the only country that got this privilege during the administration of President Donald Trump. He praised the role of Royal Oman Police for easing the procedures and their effective collaboration. It is worth noting that the United States had already applied the new visa change from January 1, 2019, and Oman resumed activating the same from Wednesday.