Full List: Oman Bans Foreigners From 32 Professions Under Omanisation Policy

• Oman's Ministry of Labour expanded its Omanisation strategy by reserving 32 professional roles exclusively for Omani nationals
• The banned professions for foreigners span major sectors including tourism, logistics, energy, sales, and information technology
• A phased timeline has been introduced for IT roles, with the final restrictions taking effect from 1 January 2027

Oman's Ministry of Labour has moved to reserve 32 additional professional roles strictly for Omani nationals, significantly widening the scope of the country's long-running Omanisation employment strategy.

The decision affects expatriate workers across several of the Sultanate's most active economic sectors, including hospitality, transport, oil and gas, commercial sales, and information technology.

Sectors most affected by the new rules

Workers in the hospitality and travel industry face some of the most immediate restrictions. Roles such as hotel reception manager, travel agent, travel consultant, lifeguard, and housekeeping supervisor are now closed to foreign nationals.

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The transport and logistics sector has also been significantly tightened. Drivers of refrigerated tractor-trailers and water transport vehicles, cargo loading and unloading supervisors, and aircraft loading supervisors must now be Omani citizens.

In the energy sector, several specialised oil and gas positions have been set aside for nationals, covering drilling fluid engineers, drilling supervisors, drilling measurements engineers, and quality controllers.

Commercial roles have not been spared either. Marketing specialists, commercial brokers, sales representatives, and vehicle salespersons handling new cars, used cars, and spare parts are all included in the restricted list.

Phased IT restrictions leading to 2027 deadline

The Ministry has adopted a staggered rollout for information technology roles to give businesses and foreign professionals adequate time to adjust.

Early restrictions cover general systems analysts, information systems network specialists, marine controllers, ship movement controllers, and computer maintenance technicians, followed by computer programmers, engineers, and operators.

The final wave of IT restrictions, covering website designers and operations analysts, is set to take full effect on 1 January 2027.

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Full list of 32 professions now banned for foreigners

The complete list of occupations now restricted to Omani citizens is as follows:

1. Driver of a refrigerated tractor-trailer for transporting foodstuffs and medical supplies
2. Driver of a tractor-trailer for transporting water
3. Hotel reception manager
4. Lifeguard
5. Travel agent
6. Travel consultant
7. Housekeeping supervisor
8. Quality control manager
9. Quality officer
10. Drilling fluid engineer
11. Drilling supervisor
12. Electrician/general maintenance
13. Mechanic/general maintenance
14. Drilling measurements engineer
15. Quality controller
16. Aircraft loading supervisor
17. Marketing specialist
18. Ship mooring worker
19. Labour supervisor
20. Cargo loading and unloading supervisor
21. Commercial promoter (sales representative)
22. Commercial broker
23. Goods coordinator
24. Flatbed crane operator
25. Forklift operator
26. New vehicle salesperson
27. Used vehicle salesperson
28. New spare parts salesperson
29. Used spare parts salesperson
30. General systems analyst
31. Information systems network specialist
32. Computer maintenance technician, programmer, engineer, operator, website designer, and operations analyst

Oman offers fast-track work permits for foreigners

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported earlier that Oman's Ministry of Labour had introduced a rapid approval pathway covering nine specific job categories for foreign workers.

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The new system aimed to cut what previously took several weeks down to just ten working days.

Officials linked the fast-track permits to Oman's wider economic diversification and foreign investment goals.

Source: YEN.com.gh