Oman has opened its real estate market to foreign buyers, allowing non-Omanis, foreign companies, and legal entities to own property under the new Real Estate Registry Law, and granting foreign property owners access to a new, sponsor-free residency option.
Oman had previously restricted foreign ownership to designated tourism developments; the new law extends it nationwide, subject to forthcoming executive regulations.
The registry law took effect last month; the residency amendments, issued by the Royal Oman Police through Decision No. 87/2026, were published in the Official Gazette on 21 June and came into force the following day.
The amendments formalize a property owner residence permit that sits apart from Oman’s Investor Residency program, with thinner benefits to match its lack of a minimum threshold.
The “Owner” permit runs in short cycles, six months to one year, renewable, and lets holders and their first-degree relatives live in Oman for as long as they hold the asset.
By contrast, the Golden and Silver Residency permits, part of Oman’s Investor Residency program, retain more benefits: They run for five or 10 years against investment thresholds of OMR 500,000 (approximately US$1.3 million) and OMR 250,000 (approximately US$650,000), and they carry rights the Owner permit does not: visa-free movement across the GCC, the ability to sponsor domestic staff, and business-ownership privileges.
In short, owning a home now provides residency that tracks the property; reaching the Investor Residency thresholds still provides longer-term and wider benefits.
Foreign Ownership, Off-Plan Included
The new statute allows non-Omanis to register land and property in their name, and it grants electronic records and digital contracts the same legal force as paper deeds.
Until now, foreign ownership in Oman ran principally through the Integrated Tourism Complex (ITC) framework, a carve-out from the general restriction on non-Omani ownership. The registry law builds a cleaner rail: registered title, electronic and legally enforceable, capable of being held through a corporate vehicle.
Notably, the law also recognizes the preliminary registry that documents off-plan sales and development projects. In other words, it extends to buyers of unregistered land and off-plan units, not just owners of completed, registered property.
As such, purchasers of land designated for construction, or of units still undergoing registration, qualify for the Owner permit.
Additionally, the new law widens the pool of those who can sponsor a foreign resident. Sponsors may now include Omani citizens, GCC nationals, licensed foreign investors, foreign owners of real estate in the Sultanate, and expatriates employed by government entities.
What’s Driving Oman’s Property Reform
Vito Magagnino, Founder and CEO of Swiss advisory firm Mirabello Consultancy, which is active in the GCC, reads the reforms as the logical output of Oman’s long-term diversification plan rather than a sprint to imitate its GCC neighbors.
Oman’s pivot away from hydrocarbons, he argues, depends on attracting non-oil capital, and “a well-governed real-estate market is among the cleanest ways to do it.”
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have each removed restrictions on foreign access to property and residency in recent years, and “Oman could not afford to be the Gulf economy that stood still,” explains Magagnino, albeit cautioning against reading the changes purely through a competitive lens.
“The most telling reform is not a headline number; it is the new digital property registry,” he said. “International capital does not chase the lowest threshold; it chases certainty of title and rule of law. That is what Oman has just delivered, and it signals maturity rather than desperation.”
Oman’s edge, he argues, is that it isn’t trying to be the UAE. He points to advantages such as Oman’s political neutrality and stability, a lifestyle built on open space and nature rather than high urban density, quick visa processing times of roughly three to six weeks, and no family-size limit on first-degree relatives.
He also notes that Oman, like its Gulf neighbors, has no personal income tax, though that is set to change in 2028, when it becomes the first GCC state to tax personal income.
Who Benefits
Magagnino expects a positive but measured market response, and views measured “as the goal rather than a disappointment.”
The most immediate beneficiaries, he predicts, will be foreigners already living in the country. “Tens of thousands of expatriates who have built their lives in Oman can now own their homes outright and secure sponsor-free residency for themselves and their families,” he said.
That converts transient residents into long-term stakeholders, which he sees as good for talent retention, social cohesion, and the growth prospects of the property market.
The second wave, he expects, will be GCC-based investors diversifying their footprint, alongside entrepreneurs and family offices that can now hold Omani assets through an internationally legible structure.
The timing, coming amid regional tensions, may be exactly what Oman is betting on. He argues the Sultanate has built a reputation for neutrality and calm that holds up even when conflict flares nearby, and “this is precisely when the wealthy look for a stable base.”
The new legal clarity, he explains, removes a hurdle that once deterred cautious buyers.
As such, Magagnino expects the likely outcome to be steady, quality-led growth rather than a speculative surge, and argues that this would be the healthier result. “Oman is building a market designed to last, not a bubble,” he said.
The full scope of the changes will become clearer once authorities publish the Registry Law’s executive regulations. “The opportunity is real; the detail is where value is won or lost,” he adds.
IMI Pros Who Can Help with Oman’s Investor Residence
