Author name: waseem

  Businesses operating across Oman and international markets need to pay closer attention to Oman tax treaty updates in 2026, particularly where payments are made to overseas companies, shareholders, lenders, consultants, or related parties. Changes to the Double Taxation Agreement network in Oman can affect withholding tax, treaty relief, tax residency requirements, and the way cross-border income is treated. MFN Auditing works with businesses in Oman to help them understand these changes and assess their potential impact on cross-border transactions. Several Oman tax treaties became effective from 1 January 2026, including agreements with Egypt, Estonia, Tanzania, Cyprus, and Luxembourg. Oman has also continued expanding its international tax network during 2026, including the signing of a new agreement with Angola. For finance teams, the practical issue is not simply knowing that a treaty exists. The relevant agreement needs to be checked against the type of payment, recipient’s tax residence, applicable withholding rules, and the date on which the treaty became effective. Getting that analysis right helps businesses avoid incorrect withholding, unnecessary tax costs, and compliance problems.   What Are Oman Tax Treaty Updates 2026? Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) in Oman establish how certain income is taxed when it has a connection with Oman and another country. These agreements can determine which country has taxing rights over specific income and may reduce withholding tax rates that would otherwise apply under domestic legislation. The Oman Tax Authority’s official DTA database currently records agreements with Egypt, Estonia, Tanzania, Cyprus, and Luxembourg as becoming effective on 1 January 2026. The same database lists Oman’s existing agreements with numerous other jurisdictions, including Pakistan, India, the United Kingdom, Qatar, China, Canada, Japan, Spain, and others. A proper review should establish: The country where the recipient is tax resident The exact nature of the payment Whether Oman domestic withholding tax applies Whether an applicable DTA changes the treatment Which treaty article covers the income Whether the recipient meets the treaty conditions What documentation is required to support treaty relief Which Oman DTAs Became Effective in 2026? The most immediate Oman DTA 2026 developments concern five agreements that entered into effect at the beginning of the year. Country Agreement Signed Royal Decree Effective Date Egypt 22 May 2023 43/2023 1 January 2026 Estonia 27 October 2024 62/2024 1 January 2026 Tanzania 15 December 2024 25/2025 1 January 2026 Cyprus 8 December 2024 24/2025 1 January 2026 Luxembourg 16 October 2024 64/2024 1 January 2026 These effective dates are important because a treaty’s signing date does not automatically mean that businesses can apply its provisions to transactions immediately. Companies need to establish when the agreement actually became effective and which tax periods or payments it covers. For businesses making regular payments to suppliers, service providers, shareholders, or related companies in these jurisdictions, the 2026 effective dates should trigger a review of existing withholding tax procedures. How Do Oman Tax Treaties Affect Withholding Tax? Withholding tax is one of the areas where tax treaty changes can have a direct financial impact. Under Oman’s domestic tax framework, certain payments made to non-residents are subject to withholding tax. The Tax Authority states that specified categories, including royalties, research and development payments, payments for the use or right to use computer software, management or service fees, dividends, and interest, are subject to a 10% rate on the total amount under the domestic rules. The Oman Tax Authority publishes a summary of withholding tax rates under the tax treaties currently in force. The rates vary depending on the treaty and the category of income. Some treaty provisions also contain conditions relating to beneficial ownership or provide different treatment for specific categories of royalties and government entities. This makes treaty analysis particularly important before a payment is processed. For example, a finance team should not simply classify every overseas payment as subject to the standard domestic rate without checking whether a treaty applies. At the same time, a company should not automatically apply a reduced treaty rate simply because the recipient is located in a treaty country. What Does Oman DTA 2026 Mean for Cross-Border Payments? The impact of the 2026 treaty changes depends heavily on the type of transaction. Dividends Cross-border dividend payments may be subject to specific treaty provisions that determine the maximum withholding tax rate. Some treaties also provide reduced rates where the beneficial owner is a company holding a specified percentage of shares or where other conditions are satisfied. Interest Interest payments to overseas lenders, financial institutions, or related companies can also be affected by treaty provisions. The applicable rate may depend on the recipient’s status and the specific DTA. Royalties Royalty arrangements require careful classification because treaty treatment can differ according to the type of intellectual property or right involved. The Oman Tax Authority’s treaty summary identifies different treatments for certain categories, including copyright and computer software royalties. Management and Consultancy Fees Payments for management, technical, or consultancy services can also fall within treaty provisions. The correct treatment depends on the relevant agreement and the nature of the services provided. This is particularly important for Omani businesses that rely on overseas group companies or specialist providers. Oman Taxation Law and Double Taxation Agreements The Oman taxation law framework establishes the domestic tax rules applicable to businesses, while tax treaties provide rules for certain cross-border situations. The Oman Tax Authority’s current legislation portal includes the Income Tax Law and its Executive Regulations, along with amendments and newer legislation such as the Top-up Tax Law for entities of multinational groups under Royal Decree 70/2024. For businesses, this means domestic tax compliance and treaty compliance should not be treated as separate processes. A company may correctly identify that a payment is covered by domestic withholding tax rules but still needs to check whether an applicable DTA changes the rate. Conversely, the existence of a DTA does not mean that every payment to a foreign company automatically qualifies for reduced or zero withholding tax. The transaction must be analysed under both the domestic framework

  Many companies in Oman only start thinking seriously about internal audit once something has already gone wrong: a control failure surfaces during an external audit, a regulator asks a question the board cannot answer confidently, or a fraud investigation reveals gaps that should have been caught months earlier. Building an internal audit function that Oman regulators and stakeholders will recognise as credible before that point, rather than reacting to it, is what separates companies with genuine oversight from those simply hoping their controls hold up. At MFN Auditing, we regularly help boards and finance leadership in Oman design and stand up internal audit functions from scratch, so this guide walks through the process in the order it actually needs to happen, from the initial mandate through to ongoing quality assurance. Why Internal Audit Matters in Oman’s Regulatory Environment Internal audit requirements in Oman are not simply a good governance idea. For public joint stock companies (SAOGs) listed on the Muscat Securities Market, it is a binding requirement under the Capital Market Authority’s Code of Corporate Governance, which obliges listed companies to maintain an internal audit function that reports to an independent audit committee. That audit committee must meet at least four times a year, hear from internal audit without management present at least once annually, and oversee the function’s independence from day-to-day operations. Banks and financial institutions face similar expectations under Central Bank of Oman requirements, and even privately held companies increasingly set up internal audit voluntarily, often at the request of lenders, investors, or a parent company abroad that expects a certain baseline of internal control assurance. Whatever the trigger, the process of actually building the function follows a fairly consistent path. Step 1: Secure a Clear Mandate from the Board Internal audit only works if it has genuine authority behind it, and that authority has to come from the top. Before any hiring or planning happens, the board, or the audit committee acting on the board’s behalf, needs to formally establish why the function exists and what it is expected to do. This mandate is typically documented in an internal audit charter, which should cover the function’s purpose, its scope of authority across the organisation, its reporting line, and its independence from the activities it audits. Without this document in place first, an internal audit function tends to struggle for access to information and cooperation from other departments later, since there is no formal basis for management to take its requests seriously. What the Charter Should Establish The function’s reporting line, typically a functional reporting line to the audit committee and an administrative reporting line to the CEO or a senior executive The scope of areas internal audit is authorised to review, which should generally cover the entire organisation without carve-outs Access rights to records, systems, personnel, and physical sites needed to perform audit work The frequency and format of reporting to the audit committee A statement of independence, confirming that internal audit does not perform management functions or take on operational responsibilities that would compromise its objectivity Step 2: Decide on the Operating Model Once the mandate is clear, the next decision is how the function will actually be resourced. There are three common approaches in Oman, and the right one depends on company size, risk profile, and available budget. In-House Internal Audit Team Larger organisations, particularly listed companies and banks, typically build a dedicated in-house team led by a Chief Internal Auditor who reports functionally to the audit committee. This gives the company deep institutional knowledge over time but requires enough scale to justify a standing team. Co-Sourced Model Many mid-sized companies use a co-sourced model, where an internal audit manager or small internal team is supplemented by an external firm for specialist reviews, such as IT audits, fraud investigations, or areas requiring technical expertise the in-house team does not have. This balances cost with access to specialist skills. Fully Outsourced Internal Audit Smaller companies, or those setting up internal audit for the first time without the scale to justify a permanent team, often turn to external internal audit services in Oman providers to run the entire function. This provides immediate access to qualified, experienced auditors and established methodology without the lead time of recruiting and training an in-house team, and it remains a common starting point for companies building internal audit from zero in Oman. Step 3: Conduct an Enterprise-Wide Risk Assessment Before internal audit can plan any actual audit work, it needs to understand where the organisation’s real risks sit. This means conducting a structured risk assessment across the business, typically covering financial reporting risk, operational risk, compliance risk, and, increasingly, IT and cybersecurity risk. A few practical points make this step more effective: Risk assessments should involve interviews with senior management across departments, not just a desk review of existing policies Findings should be weighted by both likelihood and financial or reputational impact, not treated as a flat checklist The risk assessment should be revisited at least annually, since business risk profiles shift with new products, markets, or regulatory changes Sector-specific risks matter here: a company handling significant VAT transactions, cross-border payments, or Omanisation compliance obligations should weight those areas accordingly rather than applying a generic risk template This risk assessment becomes the foundation for everything internal audit does next, so rushing it to get to “real” audit work faster usually backfires later. Step 4: Build a Risk-Based Annual Audit Plan With the risk assessment complete, internal audit translates it into an annual audit plan, essentially a schedule of which areas will be reviewed, in what order, and with what frequency. Higher-risk areas should be audited more frequently than lower-risk ones, and the plan should leave some flexibility for ad hoc reviews if a new risk emerges partway through the year. The plan needs to be presented to and approved by the audit committee before execution begins. This approval step matters for two reasons: it confirms the board’s priorities are reflected

  Waiting on a work visa is stressful enough without also wondering whether the application actually moved forward. Whether you are an expatriate employee waiting to join a new employer in Oman or an HR team tracking multiple applications, an online employment visa check saves a lot of back-and-forth with visa agents and government offices. The good news is that Oman’s visa system is almost entirely digital now, and checking status takes only a few minutes once you know where to look. MFN Auditing helps businesses navigate Oman’s compliance requirements, making it easier for employers to stay organised while managing employment and visa-related processes. This guide walks through the exact steps for an Oman visa status check, what each status label actually means, and what to do if something looks wrong. Where Employment Visa Status Is Checked Employment visa status in Oman is checked through two main government platforms, depending on what stage of the process you are tracking. The Royal Oman Police eVisa Portal The Royal Oman Police (ROP) manages Oman’s official eVisa system at evisa.rop.gov.om. This is the primary portal for checking visa application status, including employment visas, since ROP handles the immigration side of the process, from application review through to visa issuance. The Ministry of Labour Portal Once a work visa is issued and the employee arrives in Oman, the employment relationship itself, including labour card and work permit status, is tracked through the Ministry of Labour’s online services. This becomes relevant slightly later in the process, after the visa stage is complete. For most people simply asking “has my visa been approved yet,” the ROP eVisa portal is the right starting point. Step-by-Step: Checking Your Visa Status on the ROP Portal Step 1: Go to the Official ROP eVisa Website Open evisa.rop.gov.om in your browser. Always confirm you are on the official Royal Oman Police domain, since unofficial third-party sites imitate government visa portals and are not reliable for status information. Step 2: Select the Visa Status or Track Application Option On the homepage, look for a section labelled “Visa Services,” “Track Application,” or “Check Visa Status.” This takes you to a form where the actual lookup happens. Step 3: Enter Your Application Details You will typically need to provide: Your Web Application Number (issued when the visa application was submitted) Your passport number Your passport-issuing country The correct captcha code If you do not have the Web Application Number, most employers or visa agents who submitted the application on your behalf can provide it, since it is generated automatically once the application is filed with ROP. Step 4: Submit and Review Your Status Once submitted, the portal displays your current visa status along with relevant details such as the application date, visa type, and validity period if issued. This is where the Oman visa verification actually happens: the system pulls live data directly from ROP’s records rather than a cached or third-party estimate. Step 5: Download or Save the Result Most employment situations require proof of visa status at some point, whether for the employer’s records, a residence card application, or immigration formalities. Download or print the confirmation screen so you have a record with the date the check was performed. Checking Visa Status Using Only a Passport Number Some applicants do not have their Web Application Number readily available, particularly if the employer’s visa agent handled the original submission. In these cases, the ROP portal also supports a passport-number-based lookup: Go to the ROP eVisa website and select the passport-number tracking option Enter your passport number exactly as it appears in your passport Select your passport-issuing country Complete the CAPTCHA and submit Review the status shown, and cross-check the details (name, visa type) against your own records to confirm it is the correct application This method is slightly less precise than using the Web Application Number, since passport numbers occasionally return multiple linked records for applicants with a visa history in Oman, so double-checking the details shown is worth the extra minute. What to Do Once Your Visa Status Shows Approved Seeing “Approved” on the portal is a milestone, but it is not the final step in the process. A few things typically need to happen next to keep the employment relationship fully compliant. Entering Oman Within the Validity Window An approved employment visa is valid for entry within a specific window, not indefinitely. Check the validity dates shown alongside the approval status and plan travel accordingly, since arriving after the visa has expired usually means restarting parts of the process rather than simply extending the existing approval. Completing the Medical Examination Most employment visa holders are required to complete a medical fitness examination at an approved facility after arrival, as part of confirming eligibility for residency. This is a standard part of the process rather than a sign of a problem with the application, but it needs to be completed within the timeframe set by immigration authorities. Applying for the Resident Card Once the medical clearance is complete, the next step is applying for a resident card (sometimes referred to as a Civil ID for residents), which formalises the employee’s legal residency status in Oman. This is a separate application from the visa itself and is typically coordinated by the employer or their PRO. Registering the Labour Card The final step is registering, or confirming registration of, the employee’s labour card with the Ministry of Labour. This is what links the individual to their specific employer for work authorisation purposes, and it is worth checking separately through the Ministry’s portal once it is done, since an approved visa does not automatically mean the labour card process has been completed. Employers who treat these as a single connected checklist, rather than four separate one-off tasks, tend to avoid the compliance gaps that come from an employee being in Oman on a valid visa but without a properly registered labour card.   Understanding What Each Status Label Means Visa status results generally fall

  Every private sector employer in Oman eventually runs into the same question from HR or a hiring manager: what percentage of our workforce actually needs to be Omani? The answer is rarely as simple as a single number, because Oman does not apply one uniform rate across every industry. Instead, the Omanisation percentage 2026 framework works through a mix of sector-specific quotas, reserved occupations, and a financial incentive system that has become significantly more automated over the past year. MFN Auditing regularly helps private sector clients work through exactly this question when they are structuring new hires, renewing work permits, or trying to understand why a labour clearance application has stalled.  This guide breaks down how Omanisation actually works in 2026, what the current rates look like sector by sector, and what compliance requires in practice. What Omanisation Actually Means Omanisation is Oman’s national workforce localisation policy, designed to prioritise the employment of Omani nationals in the private sector. It has been part of Oman’s economic policy since 1988, making it one of the longest-running nationalisation programmes in the Gulf, though enforcement has become considerably stricter since 2020 as part of the push toward Vision 2040. Rather than existing as a single consolidated law, Omanisation operates through a combination of the Labour Law, ministerial decisions, and sector-specific quotas set and periodically revised by the Ministry of Labour (MOL). The policy is enforced primarily through the labour clearance system, which regulates whether a company can recruit, renew, or retain expatriate workers based on its current Omanisation compliance status. The National Omanisation Rate in 2026 At a national level, Oman’s overall Omanisation target under Vision 2040 was set at 42% by 2025, a goal the country has largely achieved, with a further target of 50% or higher by 2030. By the first quarter of 2026, Oman’s total labour force reached over 1.8 million, with the private sector employing more than 413,000 Omani nationals, a figure that has been steadily overtaking public sector employment numbers in several counts. This national figure is useful as a benchmark, but it is not the number that determines whether an individual company is compliant. Compliance is measured against the specific quota assigned to that company’s sector and, in many cases, its occupation category. Omanisation Rates by Sector This is where the Omanisation percentage in Oman private sector framework gets genuinely specific. Sector quotas currently range from roughly 35% to more than 90%, depending on the industry and the type of role involved. Banking, Insurance, and Financial Services This sector carries the highest localisation targets in the country, with customer-facing and administrative roles often required to reach 80% to 90% or more Omani staff. Regulated financial institutions face particularly close scrutiny, since they are viewed as strategically important to the national workforce agenda. Logistics and Transport The government has set a target of approximately 21% Omanisation in logistics for 2026, reflecting the sector’s continued reliance on specialised technical and operational roles that remain harder to localise quickly. Retail and Hospitality These sectors generally sit at the lower end of the quota range compared to banking or government-adjacent industries, though the Ministry has continued to add new professions to the Omanisation list over time, gradually narrowing the gap. Technology and IT The government has introduced special quotas for the IT sector as part of its 2026 targets, recognising both the strategic importance of building local tech talent and the genuine skills shortages that still exist in specialised technical roles. Free Zones Companies operating within Oman’s Special Economic Zones and free zones, administered by OPAZ, typically face lower Omanisation requirements than the general private sector, generally ranging from 10% to 35% depending on the specific zone and its operating rules. This is one of the clearest illustrations of why no single percentage applies to every business in Oman. Occupations Reserved Exclusively for Omani Nationals Separate from the sector-wide percentage quotas, the Ministry of Labour maintains a list of occupations that are reserved entirely for Omani nationals, regardless of a company’s overall compliance level. As of the current list, these include: HR manager and HR officer positions Public relations officer (PRO) and government liaison roles Reception and front desk positions Security guard roles Commercial drivers, including taxis, buses, and trucks Customs clearance officers Insurance sales agents Employing an expatriate in any of these roles is a compliance breach even if the company’s overall Omanisation percentage exceeds its sector quota. This distinction trips up a surprising number of employers, who assume that meeting the headline percentage is sufficient on its own. How to Calculate and Monitor Your Omanisation Percentage Calculating your company’s current Omanisation percentage is straightforward in principle: divide the number of Omani national employees by the total workforce headcount, then multiply by 100. A company with 40 Omani employees out of 100 total staff has an Omanisation rate of 40%. The complexity comes from what counts in that calculation and how often the number needs to be checked. What Counts in the Calculation The relevant denominator is usually your full-time equivalent headcount within your registered activity code with the Ministry of Labour, not your global headcount if you operate across multiple licensed activities or branches, since each may carry its own quota. Tawteen-registered part-time and freelance Omani workers can also be added to the Omani side of the calculation, provided they meet minimum hour and registration requirements, which gives some employers a faster route to compliance than full-time hiring alone. Why the Ratio Shifts Constantly Because your ratio moves with every hire, resignation, or contract expiry, a single departure can be enough to drop a company from its Green Category status into non-compliance overnight. This is why checking the number only at renewal time is rarely enough for companies with any staff turnover. Practical Steps for Ongoing Monitoring Most companies operating multiple activity licences or sizeable workforces track their Omanisation percentage on a rolling basis rather than checking it only when a new work permit application is submitted.

  Every M&A deal in Oman starts to look simple on paper and gets complicated the moment someone opens the target company’s books. A share purchase agreement can be drafted in a week. Understanding what you are actually buying, legally, financially, and operationally, takes far longer, and skipping that step is where most cross-border deals in the Sultanate run into trouble. Between sector-specific approvals, a foreign investment framework that treats certain industries differently from others, and a merger control regime that requires clearance before a deal can close, the due diligence process Oman investors need to follow is more structured than many first-time buyers expect. This article walks through that process from the first engagement letter to post-completion integration, with a focus on what actually needs to happen at each stage rather than generic best practice. It draws on the kind of transaction issues MFN Auditing regularly helps clients work through when entering or expanding in the Omani market. Why Due Diligence Looks Different in Oman Oman’s regulatory environment has shifted considerably since the Foreign Capital Investment Law (Royal Decree 50/2019) came into force, opening most sectors to 100% foreign ownership. That liberalization is real, but it did not remove the layers of approval that still sit underneath many transactions. Banking targets need Central Bank of Oman clearance. Investment funds and brokerages need Capital Market Authority approval. Utilities and electricity companies need sign-off from the Authority for Electricity Regulation. Deals that create market dominance need clearance from the competition regulator before they can legally close. None of this makes Oman a difficult place to transact. It makes due diligence in Oman a genuinely regulatory exercise, not just a financial and legal box-ticking exercise borrowed from a Western M&A playbook. A due diligence process built for a UK or US deal, and simply translated for the Omani market, will miss half of what actually determines deal risk here. Stage 1: Pre-Diligence Planning Before any documents are requested, the buy side needs to answer a few questions that shape everything downstream. What sector does the target operate in, and does that sector carry ownership restrictions? Oman maintains a Negative List under Ministerial Decision 209/2020 that restricts full foreign ownership in specific activities. Some sectors, including oil and gas, construction, tourism, banking, and mining, require a local shareholder holding at least 30%, unless the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion approves a reduction. Confirming this early determines whether the deal structure needs a joint venture from day one. Does the deal trigger merger control notification? Under the Competition Protection and Monopoly Prevention Law (Royal Decree 67/2014), any transaction that could result in a party acquiring a dominant market position, generally interpreted as more than 50% of the relevant market, must be notified to the regulator before completion. The regulator has 90 days to respond, and the deal is deemed approved if it does not respond within that window. Will the target need a sector regulator’s approval for change of control? Banks, investment firms, brokerages, and electricity companies all sit under separate regulatory approval requirements. These approvals are not a formality. They involve the regulator reviewing the acquirer’s financial standing, ownership structure, and sometimes its ultimate beneficial owners, so they need to start early in parallel with commercial diligence rather than after signing. Getting clear answers to these three questions shapes the scope, timeline, and team composition for everything that follows. Stage 2: Assembling the Diligence Team Because Omani due diligence spans legal, financial, tax, regulatory, and often technical or environmental workstreams, most serious transactions bring in a mix of internal deal leads and external specialists rather than trying to run it all in-house. A typical team includes: Legal counsel with Omani corporate and regulatory experience, to handle the Commercial Companies Law, licensing, and sector approvals Financial due diligence specialists, usually an audit or advisory firm, to validate the target’s numbers Tax advisors familiar with Oman’s corporate tax rules, withholding tax exposure, and increasingly, the incoming personal income tax framework for 2028 HR and labor advisors, given Oman’s Omanisation quotas and the requirement, in force since April 2026, for foreign-owned businesses to employ at least one Omani national within a year of starting operations Sector specialists where relevant, such as environmental consultants for industrial targets or IT auditors for tech-heavy acquisitions Buyers who try to run this process with a single generalist advisor typically end up re-doing work later, once gaps surface that a specialist would have caught the first time. Stage 3: Legal Due Diligence Legal diligence in Oman covers the same broad categories as most jurisdictions, corporate standing, contracts, litigation, and IP, but with a few areas that deserve extra attention locally. Corporate Structure and Licensing The starting point is confirming the target’s registration with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, its commercial register extract, and its Foreign Capital Investment Law status if it already has foreign shareholders. Buyers should verify that all required sector licenses are current, that share capital requirements have actually been met (not just declared), and that there are no pending disputes over ownership. Material Contracts Reviewing customer, supplier, financing, and lease agreements matters everywhere, but in Oman it is worth paying particular attention to change-of-control clauses. Many long-term government and semi-government contracts, which are common in Oman’s oil and gas, construction, and infrastructure sectors, include termination or renegotiation rights triggered by a change in ownership. Missing one of these clauses can turn a clean acquisition into a target that loses its most valuable contract the day the deal closes. Litigation and Regulatory Compliance History This includes checking for pending court cases, labor disputes, and any history of regulatory penalties, particularly under the Competition Law, environmental regulations, or sector-specific licensing conditions. A target with unresolved regulatory issues can pass its liabilities directly to the acquirer. Stage 4: Financial Due Diligence Financial due diligence in Oman engagements typically follows the standard structure of quality of earnings, working capital analysis, and net debt review, but a

  Oman has entered its most significant corporate reform cycle in over a decade, and 2026 is the year these reforms move from announcement to enforcement. New employment requirements, revised governance rules, and updated management qualification criteria are now active. Investors who move ahead without accounting for them face real risk: delays, penalties, or restricted access to their commercial registration. If you’re evaluating company formation services in Oman this year, understanding these changes is essential. It determines whether your setup moves smoothly or stalls before it starts. MFN Auditing works with foreign investors through exactly these shifts, turning regulatory change into a clear, workable setup process from day one. Oman’s Appeal for Foreign Investors Oman has spent the past two years positioning itself as one of the most accessible markets in the Gulf for foreign capital. Full ownership rights in most sectors A competitive 15% corporate tax rate Low VAT relative to regional peers A modernized digital registration platform through Invest Easy These factors have made the country an increasingly attractive base for regional expansion. But accessibility and simplicity are not the same thing. The rules that govern who can set up a company, how that company must be staffed, and who can manage it have all changed substantially. Investors who treat 2026 like any other year risk building their company on outdated assumptions. Why 2026 Is a Turning Point for Company Registration in Oman Since Royal Decree 18/2019 replaced Oman’s original 1974 companies law, the framework had stayed largely stable. That changed with a wave of amendments delivered through Ministerial Decision 245/2025 and Royal Decree 27/2026, which together reshaped governance, foreign ownership practice, and manager qualification rules across virtually every commercial and industrial activity in the country. For anyone pursuing company setup in Oman, these are not minor procedural tweaks. They touch how companies are structured, staffed, and filed from the outset. Two Channels of Reform Legal advisors tracking these changes describe them as the most comprehensive overhaul of Oman’s corporate framework since the base law was enacted. The reforms arrive through two channels working in parallel: Royal Decrees. Issued directly by the Sultan, these amend the parent legislation and create new regulatory powers for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, known as MOCIIP. Ministerial Decisions. These fill in the operational detail, covering everything from manager eligibility to beneficial ownership disclosure. Together, they form a compliance calendar that touches every company registered in the Sultanate, not just new entrants. The Key Rule Changes Investors Need to Know 1. Mandatory Omani Employment for Foreign-Owned Companies As of April 2026, every company wholly owned by foreign investors must employ at least one Omani national and register them with the Social Protection Fund. Companies receive a twelve-month window from the date of digital notification to comply, and the hiring must be reflected in the commercial registration itself. Notifications arrive through text messages and official digital channels, so investors need to monitor these communications closely rather than assume the obligation only applies at the point of incorporation. Who this affects. The rule applies to new and existing businesses alike, across more than 1,700 commercial and industrial activities, representing a substantial share of Oman’s economic landscape. Whether a company operates in construction, logistics, manufacturing, or professional services, local employment now has to be part of the operating model from the start. What is at stake. Non-compliance can result in MOCIIP restricting a company’s ability to update or renew its commercial registration, which affects far more than paperwork. A restricted commercial registration can block a company from signing new contracts, updating its licenses, or expanding its scope of activity. That is a real operational risk for any business planning to grow, hire, or transact in Oman. 2. Revised Authorised Manager Requirements Article 92 of the Commercial Companies Regulation has been rewritten, and the role of authorised manager has shifted from a largely administrative appointment into a regulated governance position. New obligations for authorised managers: Fit-and-proper eligibility checks A documented authority matrix filed with the Commercial Register A formal conflict of interest register An annual compliance certificate for Grade 1 and Grade 2 companies Existing manager appointments made before these changes had to be brought into compliance by 11 July 2026, and any new appointment now runs entirely through MOCIIP’s electronic filing platform. Investors can no longer simply appoint a manager and file the paperwork later. The qualification checks, the authority matrix, and the conflict of interest disclosures all have to be in place before the appointment is accepted. For companies still operating under pre-reform appointments, this is one of the most time sensitive items on the current compliance calendar. 3. Beneficial Ownership and Governance Disclosure Ministerial Decision 245/2025 introduced a mandatory register of controllers, requiring every MOCIIP-registered company to maintain and periodically update beneficial ownership records. This represents one of the most significant expansions of corporate transparency requirements in Oman’s history, and it applies regardless of company size or sector. Article 13bis added further governance disclosure obligations on top of this, meaning companies affected by these provisions may need to amend their articles of association to remain compliant. For foreign investors used to lighter disclosure regimes elsewhere in the Gulf, this is a meaningful shift. Beneficial ownership information now has to be accurate, current, and filed through the same electronic system used for manager appointments and other governance filings. Treating this as a one time filing at incorporation is a mistake. The register has to be updated whenever ownership structure changes, which means it needs to be built into a company’s ongoing compliance routine, not just its formation checklist. 4. Foreign Ownership Remains Open, But Sector-Specific The Foreign Capital Investment Law continues to permit up to 100% foreign ownership across most sectors, and that has not changed in 2026. A negative list of roughly 37 restricted activities still requires Omani participation, and some regulated sectors carry minimum capital thresholds that can run well above the general practice minimum. The practical decision for