Muscat: Oman is to introduce stiff penalties for expatriate employees who are without valid employment status, including imprisonment of up to two years and a maximum fine of up to 2,000 riyals (Dh19,075).
The penalties come after the authorities twice extended a grace period to allow workers sufficient time to sort out their status. The latest extension runs out in two days.
The penalties will be imposed by royal decree of Omani Ruler Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed.
Under the decree, people who give illegal access to foreigners violating the Expatriate Residency Law will also be held liable for their actions and punished.
Hotels are also required to submit a list of foreign guests on a daily basis.
In January this year, the government gave overstaying expatriates three months to complete all paperwork to leave the country without paying fines or to regularise their status with the Manpower Ministry.
The deadline was first extended up to May 31 and then by another two months. Further extensions are unlikely.
Exact numbers unclear
The deadlines were extended largely because missions, especially from the Indian subcontinent, had made requests to the authorities.
"We are not going to ask for any more extensions," Anil Wadhwa, Indian ambassador to Oman, told Gulf News.
Although the Manpower Ministry is yet to provide the final number of workers claiming amnesty, it is estimated that around 40,000, including 22,000 Indians, have shown a willingness to leave Oman.
This is far less than industry estimates.
"Before the amnesty, there were 102,000 people in Oman who were either without a proper visa or not working for their original sponsor," a source with the construction industry said.
The government has also warned anyone working for someone other than their original sponsor. A provision has been introduced in the labour laws whereby the sponsor could also be fined and imprisoned for allowing employees to work for someone else.
