Muscat – The data shows a marked decrease in the number of Bangladeshi expatriates, largely attributed to the changes in visa regulations.

According to NCSI figures, the number of Bangladeshi expatriates in Oman plummeted from 719,111 at the end of 2023 to 684,108 in May 2024. This represents a year-to-year drop of 2.8 percent between May 2023 and May 2024. The decline follows the Royal Oman Police’s (ROP) announcement on October 31, 2023, suspending the conversion of all types of tourist and visit visas to work visas for all nationalities, alongside halting the issuance of all types of new visas for Bangladeshi citizens.

However, in June 2024, Oman’s embassy in Dhaka clarified that certain categories would be exempt from the visa ban. These exemptions include family visas, visit visas for Bangladeshi citizens residing in GCC countries, as well as visas for physicians, engineers, nurses, teachers, accountants, investors, all types of official visas, and high-income tourists.

While the number of Bangladeshi workers has decreased, other expatriate communities have shown varying trends. The number of expatriates from Myanmar grew by 102.6 percent, reaching 28,947 in May 2024, up from 23,329 at the end of 2023. Similarly, Tanzanian expatriates saw a 44.5 percent increase, totaling 19,962. On the other hand, the number of Nepalese expatriates fell by 2.7 percent to 20,202, compared to 20,286 at the end of 2023.

Other major expatriate groups have also experienced changes. The Indian expatriate population, the largest in Oman, decreased by 4 percent to 509,006, down from 520,431 at the end of 2023. In contrast, the number of Pakistani expatriates increased by 5 percent to 289,481 in May 2024, up from 288,290 at the end of 2023.

The Sri Lankan expatriate population decreased by 4.3 percent to 26,374, while the number of Philippine expatriates dropped by 4.2 percent to 45,307. Conversely, the Egyptian expatriate community grew by 8.1 percent, reaching 42,219.