Oman's 10-year Golden Residency for investors and their families

Oman's Golden Residency was presented by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) in Salalah on 31 August 2025 and opened on 1 September 2025 as part of Oman Vision 2040. It replaced the earlier investor residency scheme, which offered five-year permits for OMR 250,000 and ten-year permits for OMR 500,000. Under the new model there is a single 10-year renewable permit and a single threshold of OMR 200,000, which can be reached through company ownership, property in Integrated Tourism Complexes (ITCs), government development bonds, listed shares, a five-year bank deposit, a company employing at least 50 Omani nationals, or a nomination by a company registered under the Foreign Capital Investment Law. Applications are filed online through the official portal at omanresidence.gov.om, operated with an accredited partner, and the ministry has said thresholds and routes will be reviewed from time to time.

The Golden Residency is a residence status, not a nationality. The official materials published so far do not set a minimum number of days to be spent in Oman each year, but the investment must be held for as long as the residence relies on it, and absence rules for residence cards are set by the Royal Oman Police; we confirm the current position before each filing. Holders do not need a local sponsor, may own their project or property in full, use fast-track lanes at airports and borders, may own one property outside the ITCs in areas open to foreign ownership, and can sponsor visit visas for wider family and employ up to three domestic workers.

Oman currently levies no personal income tax, but Royal Decree 56/2025 introduces one from 1 January 2028. Individuals who are tax resident, including anyone present in Oman for 183 days or more in a year, will be taxed on worldwide taxable income at 5% on the part above OMR 42,000 a year, after allowable deductions such as housing-loan interest, education, healthcare and charitable gifts. Gains on the sale of a main or second home, inheritances and gifts are exempt, and the published law provides a one-time two-year exemption for foreign income; the executive regulations are still due, so pre-arrival planning should be reviewed as they appear. Corporate income tax is generally 15%.

Family inclusion is one of the programme's strengths: spouses, children and first-degree relatives can be added with no age cap and no limit on numbers. Residence does not lead to citizenship. Under the Omani Nationality Law (Royal Decree 38/2014), naturalisation generally requires at least 20 years of continuous legal residence (15 years for a man married to an Omani woman), fluency in Arabic and a lawful income, and remains at the discretion of the Ministry of Interior. Holding Omani nationality alongside another is not permitted except by specific royal decree, so the Golden Residency is best seen as a long-term base rather than a route to a second passport.