DRMumbai: Last year, Oman relaxed its visa rules to attract more tourists by granting Visa on Arrival (unsponsored tourist visa) for the citizens of India, China and Russia who hold an entry visa to the US, Canada, Australia, UK and the Schengen States to enter the Sultanate of Oman. To further facilitate the process, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) has announced that visas will only be granted electronically through their website and there will be no more hand-processed visas at the airport, effective March 21, 2018.
Royal Oman Police, Sultanate of Oman, said, “The migration to electronic visas aimed at ensuring simplicity and effectiveness and to align the process with modern technology. It is in line with the e-government project of the Sultanate. Further, it will save tourists and visitors time by doing away with winding queues at airports. The system has been thoroughly tested and more than 12,000 users have already benefited from it. The system is considered to be one of the safest and most confidential in the world, and has achieved an ISO certification.”
The e-visa application explains clearly the process of obtaining visas either individually or collectively such as obtaining a visa through a tourism company, in a simplified way. Additionally, the application clarifies the visa formalities for various groups of countries. In addition, specialists at ROP are available 24 hours a day to provide support. There is an official account of the e-Visa system on twitter where once can seek assistance.
The new e-visa system, coinciding with the opening of the new Muscat International Airport, supports the Oman Tourism Strategy in attracting more tourists and tourism investment into the country, whereby the number of tourists to Oman in 2040 will reach over 11 million by 2040.
