Oman Company Registration and Residence: Official Steps and Fees

This guide is for business owners who want to register a company in Oman and live there. Every step, fee and time below comes from official Omani government pages, with a link to each one. The figures were checked on 10 November 2026.

Registering the company does not give you residence by itself

This is the point most people miss. The Oman Business Platform says it plainly: a commercial registration “is not related to obtaining the investor residence permit”. Your residence has its own conditions. So the route has two parts: first the company, then your residence through one of two official routes.

Step 1: Register the company (commercial registration)

Companies are registered with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) on the Oman Business Platform, the new home of the Invest Easy service.

• From abroad: foreign investors can now verify their identity online, with a face and ID check, and register a company remotely. They open the account with an email address, so no early trip is needed. A security check of one to three days may apply (MoCIIP, 25 December 2025).
• No minimum capital: under the Foreign Capital Investment Law (Royal Decree 50/2019), foreign investors can own 100% of the company with no minimum capital.
• Legal forms: limited liability company (LLC), joint or limited partnership, sole proprietorship, closed or public joint stock company, or a branch of a foreign company (Invest Oman).
• Foreign owners: a company owned by non-GCC foreigners falls under the foreign-investment rules. The platform asks for a short project description, and you need an investment licence under the Foreign Capital Investment Law (Oman Business Platform, legal types).

Time. The trade name is usually approved in one to two working days. MoCIIP says local and foreign companies can finish registration in one week to 10 working days if all requirements are met from the start, and the platform issues the registration certificate as soon as the application is complete.

Fees. The registration fees are not published on the pages we checked. The platform has a licence simulator for estimates.

After registration: register with the Tax Authority, usually within 30 days of starting activity. Corporate income tax is 15%, and VAT is 5% once revenue passes the threshold. You must also file an annual report within six months of the end of each financial year.

Step 2: Your residence, route A: Golden Residency

Oman’s Golden Residency, launched on 1 September 2025, gives investors a renewable 10-year residence. The minimum investment is OMR 200,000 (about USD 520,000), in one of seven ways (Invest Oman):

• setting up a company registered in Oman
• owning completed property in an Integrated Tourism Complex
• buying government development bonds
• buying shares listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange
• keeping a fixed deposit in an Omani bank for at least five years
• owning a company that employs 50 or more Omanis
• being nominated by a company under the Foreign Capital Investment Law, if its capital meets the threshold

You can sponsor your spouse and children with no age limit, own one more property outside the tourism zones and employ up to three domestic workers. You apply online on the official Golden Residency platform. The government fees and processing time are not published there.

Step 2: Your residence, route B: a work permit from your own company

The Ministry of Labour’s service for commercial work permits lets a company apply for work permits for its workers and for investors.

Royal Oman Police issues the Employment Visa to people aged 21 or over who hold a Ministry of Labour work permit (ROP, visa types).

Step 3: Your residence card

Once you are in Oman, you must get your residence card within 30 days of entry, and you apply in person. You need the application form, your original passport and the Manpower form after your medical exam. The card costs 6 rials for one year or 11 rials for two years, plus 10 rials for each month you are late (ROP, first residence card).

Bringing your family

• Golden Residency holders can sponsor their spouse and children with no age limit.
• Royal Oman Police’s Relative Joining Visa covers the spouse and children under 21 of a foreign worker, the spouse and first-degree relatives of a foreign investor, and the spouse and first-degree relatives of a foreign owner, under conditions set by the authority (ROP, visa types).

ROP’s public pages do not list fees for these family visas.

Hiring staff: the one-Omani rule

Staff follow the same route as route B: a Ministry of Labour work permit, then an ROP employment visa and a residence card. Keep one rule in mind from the start. A firm that has been open for one year must employ at least one Omani. A firm without one must send an employment plan within one month of being notified. Firms with 10 or more staff then get three months to comply, and smaller firms get six months (Oman News Agency, 5 May 2025).

3 common mistakes

• Relying on old figures. Many pages still quote the 2021 investor residence: OMR 250,000 for 5 years and OMR 500,000 for 10 years (Foreign Ministry, 2021). The current Golden Residency starts at OMR 200,000 for 10 years.
• Assuming you must fly in to register. Since late 2025, foreign investors can verify their identity and register a company from abroad.
• Forgetting the Omani hire. Plan for at least one Omani employee by the end of your first year.

How the Aval Visa team helps

For Oman, the Aval Visa team works on two things: registering the company and the owner’s residence. That covers the registration on the Oman Business Platform, choosing between the Golden Residency and a work-permit route, and the family visas. The authorities decide every application. If you want to check which route fits you, book a 30-minute consultation.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner own 100% of a company in Oman?

Yes. Under the Foreign Capital Investment Law (Royal Decree 50/2019), foreign investors can own 100% of their company with no minimum capital.

Can I register an Omani company without travelling?

Yes. MoCIIP says foreign investors can verify their identity online and register remotely. A short security check may apply. Opening a bank account is a separate step, and some banks ask you to come in person.

Does registering a company give me residence?

No. The Oman Business Platform states that a commercial registration is separate from the investor residence permit. Your residence comes through the Golden Residency or a Ministry of Labour work permit.

How much is the Golden Residency?

The minimum investment is OMR 200,000, about USD 520,000. The government fees are not published on the official platform.

Sources

All checked on 10 November 2026:

• Oman Business Platform: new commercial registration
• Oman Business Platform: legal types
• MoCIIP: ease of doing business in Oman (25 Dec 2025)
• Invest Oman: launch of the 10-year Golden Residency (1 Sep 2025)
• Golden Residency Programme (MoCIIP)
• Ministry of Labour: commercial work permits
• Royal Oman Police: visa types
• Royal Oman Police: first residence card
• Oman News Agency: one-Omani rule (5 May 2025)