The Government of the Sultanate of Oman is routinely criticised by the international community for discriminating between the treatment of Omani men and women as the law deprives Omani women of the ability to transmit nationality to their children if they marry to a foreigner. Unfortunately, the new law does not change this key principle for the transmission of Omani nationality only through the father, but it lowers the requirements for obtaining Omani nationality for all paths to nationality and creates a new quicker path for a foreign husband of an Omani woman to obtain Omani nationality.

Generally speaking, the Omani Nationality Law of 2025 retains the same structure and approach of the Omani Nationality Law of 2014 as it requires nationality to be granted by royal decree through an application made to the Ministry of Interior, and decisions made in this regard are not subject to review by any of the courts. The law also retains the same principle that dual nationality cannot be granted except as an exception by royal decree and does not provide any clarifications for the cases in which this exception would be granted.

The law retains the distinction between a holder of Omani nationality by origin and a person granted Omani nationality, which makes a difference in regard to cases in which Omani nationality can be revoked. Under the law of 2014, any person born to an Omani father is automatically deemed Omani by origin. The new Omani Nationality Law of 2025 makes the standard for being considered Omani by origin higher by giving it to third generation descendants of a nationalised Omani after these grandchildren reach the age of 50.

Other than the higher standard for who is considered an Omani by origin, the requirements for obtaining Omani nationality have been reduced as follows:

The meaning of continuous residence for all paths to nationality has also been loosened as the previous law considered being out of the country for more than 60 days in a year a violation of the continuous residence requirements. This period has now been extended to 90 days.

The law also has other provisions determining the treatment of foreign husbands and wives of Omanis who divorce their Omani partners after obtaining nationality, a new ground for revoking nationality from Omanis by origin for insulting the person of the Sultan, and other provisions.

You can read the new Omani Nationality Law in full in English on the link below:

Entities subject to this regulation were originally required to comply with its provisions by February 2025, and this new amendment changes this deadline to February 2026.

Even though this technically relates to the Executive Regulation and not the actual Personal Data Protection Law, which in theory entered into force in February 2023, the extension of the deadline for complying with the executive regulation effectively means that neither the law or the regulation will not be enforced in Oman until February 2026.

You can read the consolidated version of the Executive Regulation of the Personal Data Protection Law by clicking on the link below:

The new amendment to article 71 of the Penal Law limits the ability of the court to choose not to implement a punishment by stipulating that this power of the court is only available in regard to punishments other than those relating to state security crimes, offenses that undermine the stature of the state, or terrorism and terrorism financing crimes.

This means that if someone is convicted in one of these newly listed crimes, the court has no choice but to implement the punishment imposed against them and the judge will not have the power to stay the execution of these punishments no matter the circumstances of the convict.

This new amendment will enter into force next week. You can read the full texts of Royal Decree 11/2025 in English on the link below:

In line with the phases, the circular states that banks should conduct a comprehensive assessment, and based on this they should develop a detailed ESG implementation plan approved by the bank’s board to be submitted to CBO by 30 June 2025.

The circular contains an annex, which sets out the requirements and recommendations that banks should adopt to promote sustainable and green financial practices. Examples of these requirements and recommendations are that the bank’s board and senior management should oversee climate-related and environmental risks and how this oversight should be implemented.

There are many ESG requirements and recommendations set out by CBO that banks in Oman should be aware of, you can read the ESG circular on the link below:

Both regulations are based on the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code), which Oman ratified by Royal Decree 63/2004. The new regulation comprehensively updates the governance of ship and port facility security. For example, it incorporates a new structure for port facility security verification, introduces new obligations for different stakeholders, establishes a new framework to license private companies to carry out certain tasks related to ship and port facility security including ship security verification, and imposes administrative fines that the MTCIT can impose if the regulation is not complied with.

You can read the decision in full in English on the link below:

This guideline is based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and prescribes a number of actions under different headings that postal companies can adopt to reduce their carbon emissions. For example, under the heading Vehicles and Means of Transport, it is suggested that postal companies should ensure that an annual percentage is set for converting their delivery vehicles to modern and environmentally friendly vehicles.

Even though this guideline is not legally binding, it is highly recommended that postal companies consider them, especially as the guideline states that the TRA will issue—in cooperation with other government entities—directives with implementation targets and timelines.

You can read this guideline in full in English on the link below:

The new regulation completely overhauls the framework for controlling noise generated by business operations in public places (such as construction, mining, and airports), creates a classification for noise levels for daytime vs nighttime without reference to working days and holidays, introduces new duties on project owners to take noise measures and carry out noise modelling as part of environmental impact studies, and sets new administrative penalties of up to 500 rials for those who violate the regulation.

It is worth noting that this regulation repeals the old Regulation on Noise Control in the Public Environment of 1994, but does not repeal the Regulation on Noise Control in the Work Environment of 1994, which continues to remain in force.

The new Regulation for Noise Control in the Public Environment enters into force tomorrow. You can read it in full in English on the link below:

Under this new decision, for a transfer to be legal, the worker must consent to the transfer, the profession to which the worker is transferred must not be an Omanised profession, and the two entities involved in the transfer must comply with Omanisation percentages. There are also other requirements relating to the visa of the worker, the duration of the transfer, and the overall percentage of workers transferred between the entities involved. Other matters governed by this new decision include pay, the nature of the new position, and other general rights and obligations.

It is important to note that there is a legal requirement to register the transfer of the worker with the Ministry of Labour.

This new decision has already entered into force. You can read it in full in English on the link below:

The Wage Protection System is a framework created by the MOL that makes it a legal requirement for all employers in Oman to transfer the salaries of their workers using a specific electronic system through banks and other financial institutions licensed by the Central Bank of Oman. The objective of this system is to ensure that the salaries of workers are paid on time and that there is an electronic record of the transfer of the salaries.

Key changes in the new system include reducing the timeframe for transferring the wages of workers from 7 days to 3 days and introducing new grounds for the exemption from using the wage protection system such as situations where a worker is suspended from work for a reason not attributable to the employer for a period exceeding 30 days.

The new Wage Protection System has already entered into force. You can read it in full in English on the link below:

The Oman Net Zero Centre will not be an independent government entity, but a department in the MEM at the level of a directorate general. The decision details the mandates of Oman Net Zero Centre which include preparing and updating the national plan for transition to net zero, providing support and advice to relevant entities and institutions with the aim of achieving net zero targets, preparing the national plan to enhance energy consumption efficiency, approving and registration application for trading in carbon credits, among other functions.

You can read this MEM decision in full in English on the link below: