Deadline Nears for Status Correction of Non-Omani Workers: What Investors and Employers in Oman Need to Know
Muscat: The Ministry of Labour has issued a reminder that the grace period for employers and individuals to regularize the status of non-Omani workers, and to benefit from exemptions on fines and financial obligations, will end in December 2025. The Ministry emphasized that no requests will be accepted after this deadline.
This grace period enables employers and workers to complete all necessary procedures to take advantage of previously announced exemptions. These include the cancellation of all work-card fines that have expired for more than seven years, as well as the waiver of financial obligations owed to the Ministry relating to cases recorded in 2017 or earlier, including the cost of the worker’s repatriation ticket.
Additionally, the initiative covers the cancellation of work cards that have been inactive for over 10 years if no service requests have been made. However, there remains the option to reactivate such cards for processes such as renewal, departure, service transfer, or reporting a worker’s absence.
The exemptions also apply to financial liabilities recorded against companies that failed to renew work cards or transfer worker services. Fines associated with work cards may also be waived under specific conditions, including renewing the work permit, paying renewal fees, canceling a worker’s service, transferring services, or covering the repatriation ticket payment for workers who have not completed their departure.
The Ministry stressed the critical importance of adhering to this grace period and warned that any requests submitted after December 2025 will not be processed.
Special Analysis by Omanet | Navigate Oman’s Market
The Ministry of Labour’s December 2025 deadline for correcting non-Omani workers’ status presents a critical compliance opportunity for businesses to clear financial and regulatory backlogs without penalties. Smart investors and entrepreneurs should prioritize regularizing workforce documentation now to avoid future fines and disruptions, while leveraging the exemptions to optimize labor costs and operations. Failure to act before the deadline risks costly penalties and operational setbacks post-2025.
