Oman: Residence permits by type of permit (employment/ family reunion/domestic labour) (2007-2013)

Type/purpose of permit 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Employment 399,070 490,883 495,649 625,495 621,907 764,872 691,604
Family Joining (family reunion) 97,485 113,005 16,696 84,542 74,606 78,178 88,493
Domestic Servant 43,968 54,962 56,466 62,360 66,196 73,537 74,817
Business 1,049 1,785 2,210 3,556 2,071 2,727 2,345
Total 541,572 660,635 571,021 775,953 764,780 919,314 857,259

Source: Royal Oman Police
ANNEXED NOTE

1. Technical Notes and Definitions

The present data is the sum of the figures of residency permits delivered each given year under the following categories: “First issuance”, “Renewal” and “Transfer of sponsorship”, as published in NCSI’s Statistical Yearbooks in section “Social Services and Security”.
The Directorate General of Civil Status of the Royal Oman Police is responsible for delivering residence cards (Iqama) to foreign residents in the following categories:
-employed foreign nationals,
-wife and children (below age 21) of employed foreign nationals,
-brothers and sisters of employed foreign nationals (below age 18)
-foreign wife of an Omani national
Nationals of other GCC countries are exempted from the obligation to hold a residence permit.
Employment and family reunion residency permits are valid for 2 years.

2. Institution which provides data

National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI)

3. Data availability

The present data is taken from 2009 to 2014 Statistical Yearbooks, section “Social Services and Security”, available online on NSCI’s website. Each thematic section is presented in PDF format.
2009′ to 2014′ SYB are available at:
http://www.ncsi.gov.om/NCSI_website/N_ListPublications.aspx?view=21

Date of access: December 2014.