Oman suspends visa for Bangladeshis

Oman has suspended the issuance of visas across all categories for Bangladeshis from Tuesday until further notice, reported The Times of Oman yesterday, quoting Royal Oman Police (ROP), the Gulf country's immigration authority.

Besides, ROP confirmed the suspension of "visa conversions" for expatriates arriving in Oman on tourist and visit visas, the report says.

Previously, expatriates entering the country on visit visas could convert their status to employment visas. However, they will now be required to leave the country and return on a work visa, it says.

In a statement, ROP said, "The ROP, within its review of the policies for obtaining some types of visas, announces the suspension of the conversion of all types of tourist and visit visas to work visas for all nationalities coming to the Sultanate of Oman, as well as the issuance of all types of new visas for Bangladeshi citizens, effective Tuesday (October 31, 2023) till further notice."

Wishing anonymity, multiple officials at the Bangladesh Embassy in Muscat yesterday said they got to know about the issue from Oman media, and the Gulf country's authority had yet to officially inform the Bangladesh mission about it.

Usually, labour-receiving countries in the Gulf impose such visa restrictions on the source countries when the number of labourers from a particular country exceeds the expected level, said an official at the Bangladesh mission.

This could be a reason for suspending new visas for Bangladeshis, the official said.

Oman hosts more than 7,00,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers, including undocumented ones, making them the top migrant workers community there, the official said.

Another official said the mission is expected to hold a meeting with Oman's foreign ministry today to learn details about the visa suspension.

According to Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training data, Oman has recruited 18.33 lakh or 11.91 percent of the total Bangladeshi workers migrating abroad from 1976 till June this year.

This made Oman a top destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers.

In the first six months of this year, 76,679 workers have migrated to Oman for employment.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, Bangladeshis have sent US$ 790.65 million from Oman in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, making it the ninth top source country for Bangladesh in terms of generating remittances.