Oman's new investment programme launched on 29 September, offering long-stay, renewable visas valid for up to 10 years to investors, provided they meet certain conditions.
"The most important thing that attracts investors to the country today is the investment environment, the returns from their investments, the incentives, the exemptions that the government always offers them, the geographical location of Oman, the national workforce, and the modern lifestyle that the country provides, and accordingly, all these factors need to be made attractive to them," said Al Yousef, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, at the launch of the new investor visa scheme.
To mark the occasion, the minister also gave long-stay visas to 22 long-term expatriate investors in Oman.
"They have made investments in qualitative sectors, and also employ Omanis - some doing so in large numbers," he explained. "These investors also include a company in Oman that has employed 4,000 Omanis in its branches. We were also keen to make sure these 22 investors were of diverse nationalities - this indicates that ours is an attractive environment for investors from everywhere."
"I would like to invite investors to come here and take up residency for themselves and their families, in collaboration with Omani partners," said Al Yousef. "We have received another list of investors who communicated with us their desire to join this scheme. We will look at their requests next week."
Investment is expected to focus on areas marked for economic diversification, such as tourism, energy, mining, minerals, manufacturing, fisheries, as well as other support areas such as the service sector, medical products, education, and the environmental sector, including waste management. Emphasis has also been placed on investing in a circular economy.
