Working in Oman as a French National: Permit, Contract, Salary, Tax and Social Protection

The Labour Law (Royal Decree No. 53/2023) requires every non-Omani worker to obtain a work permit before starting work. The employer applies for authorisation to recruit from the Ministry of Labour, which grants the licence only if no Omani with the required qualifications, experience or technical skills is available (International Labour Organization, December 2023 factsheet). Omanisation plans, which set proportions of nationals in each company, therefore shape the job offering open to foreigners.

The Royal Oman Police issues the work visa to a candidate aged 21 or over, for two years, with multiple entries, at the request of a sponsoring employer; the stated occupation must match that of the work permit. Recruitment agencies may not charge fees to workers, the employer may not keep the passport without the employee’s written consent, and no exit permit is required to leave the country. Since 2020, a worker may change employer without the first employer’s permission after completing a two-year contract, according to the International Labour Organization factsheet; the detailed transfer rules are set by ministerial decision and should be checked before signing.

The settling-in formalities (medical examination, residence, family) are described on the page on living in Oman, and the guide to working abroad helps you prepare the departure on the French side.

The contract is drawn up in Arabic in two copies; if it is written in another language, an Arabic copy is attached. It may be concluded for a fixed term of five years at most or for an indefinite term. The probation period is three months at most for an employee paid monthly, with seven days’ notice during that period. Afterwards, termination “for a legitimate reason” requires 30 days’ written notice for a monthly-paid employee.

• Working time: eight hours a day and 40 hours a week at most, excluding one hour of rest; at most six hours of continuous work; during Ramadan, six hours a day or 30 hours a week for Muslim employees. Two consecutive days of rest a week.
• Overtime: a 25% premium on the daytime basic salary and 50% at night; 100% on rest days and public holidays, or compensatory rest; 12 hours of work a day at most in total.
• Leave: 30 days of paid leave after six months of service, with a return air ticket to the country of origin paid by the employer, sick leave of up to 182 days a year at a decreasing rate, maternity leave of 98 days and paternity leave of seven days.
• Payment of salary: at least once a month, by bank transfer under the wage protection system, within seven days of the due date; deductions are limited (five days’ pay a month for a disciplinary penalty, 25% of the monthly salary for damage caused to equipment).
• Work in direct sunlight: prohibited from 12:30 to 15:30 from 1 June to 31 August.

In the event of a dispute, the Ministry of Labour attempts conciliation; without agreement within 30 days, the matter is brought before the court of first instance. An employee who considers a dismissal abusive has 30 days to refer the matter to the Ministry.

The minimum wage in force is 325 OMR a month for Omanis in the private sector, of which 225 OMR is basic salary and 100 OMR allowances; it does not apply to migrant workers, since the Labour Law provides that a ministerial decision sets the minimum wage after consulting the dialogue committee and with the approval of the Council of Ministers (International Labour Organization, December 2023). For a French executive recruited locally, pay is therefore the result of negotiation: basic salary, housing allowance, children’s schooling, air tickets and health cover are set out in the contract.

An official benchmark for the pay aimed at foreign executives comes from family joining: the Royal Oman Police mentions a minimum monthly salary of 600 OMR to bring over one’s spouse and children under 21. The official sources consulted do not publish a salary grid by occupation; offers are compared by adding basic salary and benefits, before tax and before contributions.

The Oman Tax Authority presents the personal income tax law (Royal Decree No. 56/2025): the rate is 5% of taxable income, for people whose total annual income exceeds 42,000 OMR, and the law comes into force at the start of 2028; its implementing regulations are due to be published within the year following its publication in the official gazette. About 99% of the population is not concerned. Anyone who stays 183 days or more in the year, Omani or not, is considered resident; non-residents are taxed only on their Omani-source income. Salaries, retirement pensions, rents from residential buildings and income from self-employment are among the incomes covered, and the employer withholds and pays over the tax on salaries.

The France-Oman tax treaty of 1 June 1989 (in force since 1 August 1990, amended by protocols in 1996 and 2012) allocates taxing rights. It provides that the salaries of a resident are taxable only in the State of residence, unless the employment is exercised in the other State; it provides an exception where the stay does not exceed 183 days in the year, the employer is not a resident of the State of activity and the cost of the salary is not borne by a permanent establishment. Its Article 4 settles conflicts of residence (permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality), and its Article 2 extends it to any tax levied by Oman on total income or on elements of income. The personal situation (tax domicile, income kept in France) is checked on impots.gouv.fr or with the French tax office for non-resident individuals.

The Social Protection Fund states that non-Omani workers are excluded from the main pension scheme but covered by three branches: work accidents and occupational diseases, sick leave and maternity leave. Workers do not contribute; the employer pays 1% for each. The end-of-service indemnity remains governed by labour law and will eventually be managed by a defined-contribution provident scheme funded by the employer, whose dates of application are announced by the Fund. In the meantime, a worker who is not covered by the social protection law and has no equivalent company savings may receive an indemnity of one month of basic salary per year of service (International Labour Organization, December 2023).

There is no social security agreement between France and Oman: the country does not appear in the list published by CLEISS, the French liaison centre for international social security. An employee sent by a French employer may be seconded for 3 years, renewable once, and remain affiliated to the French scheme, with reimbursement of care within the limit of French benefits on paid invoices (form S 3125c). Pension quarters earned abroad are not added to French quarters: the guide to quarters worked abroad details the options, including voluntary insurance. See also the page on healthcare reimbursement in Oman.

The framework for salaried work is the best documented. For a self-employed activity, the route goes through a company or a commercial registration and through an investment-linked residence: the Golden Residency programme, launched on 31 August 2025 in Salalah, offers a renewable ten-year residence to investors and their family, through the creation of a business, the purchase of a property in an integrated tourism complex, the purchase of public bonds or shares, a bank deposit or the creation of a company employing more than 50 Omanis (Oman’s official news agency). Income from self-employment is taxable from 2028 above the threshold, with a deduction of 15% of gross income or of justified actual expenses.

The official sources consulted do not describe a visa specific to remote work. A French national who works remotely for a foreign employer asks the Royal Oman Police about the residence permit suited to the length of the stay; the guide to digital nomad visas and the page on digital nomad insurance complete the preparation.

Hydrocarbons structure the economy: France Diplomatie indicates that in 2022, 65% of French imports from Oman were linked to the oil and gas sector, and that trade had reached 473.4 million euros (+53.7%). In the first quarter of 2026, gross domestic product stood at 10.3 billion OMR at current prices, and the value added of petroleum activities fell by 11.7% compared with the first quarter of 2025 (National Centre for Statistics and Information, July 2026 bulletin). The “Economic benchmarks” block of this page presents the updated growth, inflation and unemployment figures.

The registered population reached 5,398,645 people at the end of June 2026, including 2,334,696 foreigners (43.2%): the country’s companies employ a large international workforce. The Omani rial, pegged to the dollar at 2.6008 dollars per 1 OMR since 1986, offers a stable rate for negotiating your pay. Two recent developments are worth following: personal income tax from 2028 and the long-term residence programmes open to investors.