Dubai: Officials at the Oman Consulate in Dubai say you can still get tourist visas on arrival at the border ahead of the long weekend from November 29 to December 3, but it is advised to apply for eVisas well in advance to avoid delays.
An earlier report suggested that visas on arrival at the border were no longer being issued and that everything had now gone online via the new https//evisa.rop.gov.om portal.
That report had stemmed from this tweet from the Royal Oman Police (ROP) on October 25, “#ROP kindly requests all visitors requiring visas traveling to #Oman to obtain their eVisas online before travel. This will facilitate easy and efficient processing at the border posts. Visas on arrival are now an exception to the rule and eVisas should be used wherever possible.”
However, the ROP issued the following clarification on November 13, “Royal Oman Police has observed an article published in one of the English newspapers in a neighbouring country addressing some changes in the Omani entry visas.
“Royal Oman Police reiterates that there has been no change to the current procedures and the granting of Omani visas remains the same. Tourists wishing to visit Oman may still obtain a visa on arrival at all the Omani border posts but are urged to rather obtain an eVisa in advance to save both time and money. You can apply and find all the visa conditions in: https//evisa.rop.gov.om – www.rop.gov.om.
“Royal Oman Police welcomes all visitors to Oman and provides fast, easy and efficient processing at border posts and strives to provide professional services at all times.”
Officials at the consulate reiterated the same when Gulf News visited on Monday, but said visitors would be better off applying online and in advance.
“You can still get visas on the border but this could take time, so we advise do it online. Online requests could also get busy, so you should allow plenty of time for the approval,” an official in the visa section of the Omani Consulate told Gulf News.
“You should also consider at what time you will pass through the border, night time and early morning will be quieter, while mornings and afternoons will be busy,” the official added.
GCC residency permit holders on any passport with a validity of not less than six months can apply online and pay just Dh50 if they are among a list of professions that don’t require a sponsor listed on the portal.
All you have to do is create an account, upload your passport copy, upload a picture not less than 512kb and pay Dh50.
This type of visa is called 29A. However dependents – not in the list of professions – will have to fill out 29B. Dependents may not get their visas or be able to start the process until after the 29A person they are travelling with is approved, according to reports of Gulf News readers who have started the process.
For this reason applicants should allow at least four days for approval but an official at the consulate said it shouldn’t take any longer than 24-48 hours to process.
Steps to get your visa
If you...
- Have a valid residency visa in any GCC country
- Are within a list of professions that can enter without sponsor
- Have a passport valid for a period of not less than six months
You can
- Log into https://evisa.rop.gov.om/
- Create an account
- Upload your passport copy
- Upload a picture that is not more than 512kb
- Pay Dh50
Within 24 hours you should get approval but allow four days
Call +968 99537194, +968 91782640, +968 24290827 for further details
