How Oman’s new labor laws impact foreign worker recruitment and staffing practices

Oman has recently rolled out new labor law changes that are shaking up how businesses hire foreign workers. If you are recruiting international talent for your Omani operations, these updates will directly affect your timeline, budget, and strategy.

What has changed?

The biggest shift is around work permit processing. Oman now requires employers to prove that they genuinely need foreign workers before approving permits. You can’t just say you need someone – you have to show documentation that proves there are no qualified Omani candidates available.

Background checks will be more extensive. What used to be a straightforward verification process now includes skills assessments for many job categories. Educational credentials from certain countries face extra scrutiny, adding weeks to the approval timeline.

The good news? Employee protections are now more transparent. However, impacted businesses will need to update their HR processes accordingly to stay compliant.

What are the timelines?

Many companies are seeing 8-12 weeks minimum for work permit processing, up from an average of 4-6 weeks previously. In more complex cases, this timeline can increase even more.

Document authentication is one of the biggest bottlenecks. If you are hiring from countries where credential verification takes time, start the process immediately. 

Impact on key sectors

Construction and hospitality are feeling the squeeze most. These industries traditionally rely heavily on foreign workers, and the new “prove you need them” requirement is creating significant paperwork. When exploring this further, one construction company shared that they now begin recruitment three months prior to needing a new employee.

Healthcare and education get some breaks due to critical skill shortages, but still face the same documentation challenges.

Oil and gas companies have slightly smoother processes for technical roles, but enhanced reporting requirements apply across the board.

What should you do?

• Start with your documentation systems. You need comprehensive records ready at any time to justify foreign worker hires. This isn’t optional anymore.
• Build relationships with document authentication services in your key recruitment markets now, before you need them urgently.
• Train your HR team on the new requirements. The penalties for getting this wrong have increased significantly.
• Consider longer-term contracts with foreign workers to maximize your recruitment investment. If it’s taking longer and costing more to hire, make those hires count.

These changes are not only unique to Oman. Similar workforce nationalization trends are happening across the GCC. Getting your processes right now prepares you for what’s coming in other markets.The companies succeeding with these changes view them as opportunities to build stronger, more strategic workforce practices rather than just compliance hurdles.

Navigating these changes requires specialized expertise in Omani labor law and recruitment processes. Companies that partner with experienced recruitment professionals are finding it easier to manage the new requirements while maintaining their hiring momentum.