Royal Oman Police said expats would not be issued fresh employment visas if they did not complete two years in a company.

Oman is set to impose a two-year work ban on expatriates who change jobs from July 1. Officials said the law, which was drafted a couple of years ago, is being implemented only now.

Royal Oman Police said expats would not be issued fresh employment visas if they did not complete two years in a company. The law will come into force in cooperation with the immigration, labour and other departments concerned.

Only those expatriate workers called by the same company after leaving the Sultanate, will be exempt from the two-year ban.

Oman is looking to bring down the number of expat workers in the private sector from the current 39 per cent to 33 per cent, and authorities said the enforcement would go a long way towards drawing more Omanis to the workforce.

According to statistics, Omani nationals constitute 55.8 per cent of the population, while expats make up the rest. There are 1.76 million expats in the country and 1.53 million of them are part of the workforce, the rest being family members.

“It is a positive move by the Royal Oman Police to put in place some controls in the expatriate employment,” Salim Al Ghammari, a member of the Municipal Council, was quoted by newspapers in the country.

He said the decision would help maintain a balance in issuance of visas for different nationalities.

Ghammari said controlling the number of expatriates would help regulate the labour market in Oman.

In May, the country had extended a six-month ban on construction workers and housekeepers by another six months.