MUSCAT: Ministry of Labour has extended the grace period given to employers in Oman to adjust the status of their expatriate workers until January 26.

This is the third time the Ministry is extending the grace period.

The decision to extend the deadline to two more weeks comes as part of the Sultanate’s efforts to regulate and organise the labour market. The grace period was originally ending on January 6 and was later extended until January 21.

“An employer can amend the occupations of expat workers that have been ‘Omanised’ to other occupations in compliance with the requirements for the new profession to be filled.
During the grace period, an employer can alter the professions of expat workers from the banned jobs to other occupations or vice versa,” the statement from Ministry said.

The new rule allows the amendment of occupations according to the requirements of the profession to be filled by expatriate employees.
The decision also allows amending and transferring the data of the non-Omani manpower from one activity to another in the same institution in line with the requirements of the issued work permits.

Modifying the wages of the non-Omani workforce according to the approved work contract will also be allowed.

The rule also allows the transfer of expat workers from one employer to another in accordance with the established regulations and procedures.
An employer may apply to recruit expat workers from within the Sultanate to fill jobs within the suspended activities if the conditions prescribed for the work permit are met.

It is allowed to cancel a worker’s leave of work notification after paying the prescribed fees to cancel the report’s fees and fines resulting from the expiration of the work permit.