Muscat: Expatriates heading out of Oman will have to clear their traffic fines at local airports or border posts starting from Monday if they are to be allowed to travel.
The new rule applies to expatriates leaving the country temporarily or permanently, an official at the Royal Oman Police (ROP) told Gulf News.
The official justified the move, saying that many countries across the world had put in place systems to ensure that fines due from expatriates were collected before they left the country.
“They have to clear their traffic fines, otherwise they cannot board their flight,” the official said.
The official added that it had come to attention that some expatriates had left the country permanently without paying their traffic fines.
The official said that unpaid traffic fines in the name of expatriates would not be cancelled.
Expatriates can pay their traffic fines at airports and borders post counters, or through the ROP website, mobile phone applications and ROP traffic department offices nationwide.
In a related move, traffic fines imposed on tourists from neighbouring countries will be forwarded to the respective countries, the official said.
The ROP last January sought to recover traffic fines from those who had left the country permanently.
Furthermore, expatriates who commit serious traffic violations like jumping traffic lights, will not be allowed to leave the country until legal procedures are completed.