The Royal Oman Police has announced new validity options and fee structures for expatriate residence cards and Omani personal identity cards, aimed at making renewals more flexible and efficient. According to a Gulf News report, this decision issued by Lieutenant General Hassan bin Mohsin Ali Shraiqi, expatriate residents can now choose residence cards that are valid for one to three years. The fees corresponding to the number of years ranges from 5 to 15 riyals. In addition, replacing damaged or lost cards will cost 20 riyals.
What Does This Mean?
Oman has now introduced flexible foreign resident cards with varying validity periods ranging between one, two or three years. It has also extended validity of Omani ID cards for citizens to 10 years. This means that expatriates now have more choices for their residency permits and can select the duration that best suits their needs, while the citizens benefit from longer-lasting ID cards.
This decision also extends the validity of Omani personal identity cards to 10 years, which matches the duration of the national passport. The issuance, renewal, and replacement fee remains10 riyals.
According to Gulf News, "These amendments are designed to ease administrative processes and provide residents with flexible options to suit their needs." All residence and ID card holders must renew their documents within 30 days of expiry to remain compliant.
As of June 2025, Oman hosts around 1.8 million expatriates, most of whom are employed in the private sector (1.4 million), in addition to being domestic workers (349,000), government employees (41,000), and family sector employees (6,800).
The updated policies are expected to benefit this large expatriate community by simplifying the residency process and reducing the administrative burdens. This move is part of the government's broader efforts to modernise civil status laws and improve public services in sync with international standards.
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