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New Omani reforms let foreign individuals, companies, and legal entities own real estate on the sultanate and qualify for a sponsor-free Owner Residence Permit tied to that ownership. First-degree family included. Here is how the new permit compares to Oman's existing Investor Residency tier and what it means for a Gulf mobility file in 2026.
Oman has issued a set of property and residency reforms that quietly shift the sultanate into direct competition with its Gulf neighbours on foreign real estate and long-term residency. The headline change is that foreign individuals, foreign companies, and foreign legal entities can now own Omani real estate outright. The residency piece attached to it is the Owner Residence Permit: sponsor-free, tied to continued ownership, and open to first-degree family members.
The permit is issued for a period between six months and one year at first issue, renewable indefinitely as long as the underlying property continues to be owned. No local sponsor. The applicant's spouse, dependent children, and dependent parents can be added to the same permit.
For applicants who did not want the complexity of a decade-long investor residency and simply needed a clean legal residence linked to an owned home, this fills the gap that used to send Omani-interested buyers to the UAE by default.
The published text does not name a minimum property value for the Owner permit. Practical qualification will emerge from the executive regulations that are still pending. Our working assumption at Become Global Citizen is that a floor will land in the OMR 100,000-200,000 range, in line with regional peers, though the government has room to leave it lower to broaden the appeal.
The Investor Residency tier, which is separate from this new Owner permit, keeps its longer holding periods at higher investment thresholds: OMR 250,000 (approximately USD 650,000) buys 5 years, OMR 500,000 (approximately USD 1.3 million) buys 10.
| Feature | Owner Residence Permit | Investor Residency |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum investment | Not yet specified | OMR 250,000 / 500,000 |
| Validity | 6 months to 1 year, renewable | 5 or 10 years |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Tied to asset | Yes (owned property) | Yes (qualifying investment) |
| Family inclusion | First-degree family | Family (per programme rules) |
| Best for | Property-anchored residence | Longer-horizon investor structuring |
The Owner permit is the lighter door. The Investor Residency remains the vehicle for HNWI files that want the full ten-year certainty in one issuance.
The Gulf has spent the last three years competing hard for internationally mobile capital. The UAE golden visa was the reference product; Saudi Arabia has been building the Premium Residency; Qatar and Bahrain have made narrower plays. Oman was the outlier that did not offer a substantive foreign-owner residency route. That is now closed.
For a file we run at Become Global Citizen, the practical question is which Gulf jurisdiction the client's overall footprint should sit in. Tax residency, banking access, corporate structure, and family logistics all factor into that call. The regional mobility brief we published earlier this year covers the trade-offs across the six states in more depth.
The short read on Oman specifically: quieter than Dubai, longer heat exposure than Muscat's coastal image suggests, and a property market that has been much less overheated than the UAE's on a price-per-square-metre basis. For clients who value discretion and tangible asset ownership over the flash of Dubai marketing, Oman just became an active option.
Three items will decide whether the Owner permit becomes a workable HNWI product or stays a lighter tool for retirees and lifestyle buyers. First, the minimum property value floor when the executive regulations publish. Second, the list of qualifying property types: freehold zones, integrated tourism complexes, and general residential all have different treatment historically. Third, banking. If Omani banks open accounts against the new Owner permit without additional friction, the permit becomes practically useful. If they do not, it stays cosmetic for many files.
The regulations are expected in the coming months. Files that want a first-mover position on Omani property should be scouting properties and lining up the source-of-funds documentation now so the file can be submitted the day the framework clarifies.
If you want a written read on whether Oman fits your Gulf plan, or how it compares against the UAE Golden Visa and other regional options, reach us at Become Global Citizen through the contact form. Written response inside the week.