Oman will no longer issue visas on arrival

Travellers to Oman will have to apply in advance for a tourism visa online in a move that is expected to affect hundreds of thousands of visitors from the UAE every year.

Previously, most travellers could obtain a visa on arrival, at an airport or border post, through the e-visa system launched last year. Until now, it allowed them to choose between the two types of application.

Yesterday, the Omani government announced that effective immediately, applications for tourist visas, including express visas, can only be made online “and will not be received at the visa service desks”.

The tourist visa fee was increased last year from 5 Omani rials (Dh47) to 20 Omani rials (Dh188) and it is valid for stays of up to one month.

It has not yet been confirmed how the new rules will apply to GCC residents, who currently enjoy the reduced fee of 5 Omani rials but these visas are also currently available online.

According to the Royal Oman Police e-visa website, to obtain an e-visa, visitors must register, select their visa then pay.

Tour operators in Khasab are invited to a meeting with Oman’s Ministry of Tourism on Sunday to discuss procedures.

Khasab is a popular destination for one-day dhow tours.

“There are many customers visiting the region just for a day,” said Arundas Haridas, operations manager at Dolphin Khasab Tours. “It will definitely be a big problem for tour operators. There are customers who decide the night before to come. I think about 30 to 40 per cent of customers book like that.

“For the rest of Oman, it works out, because those tourists are not just going for a day or two, but those coming to Khasab are just coming for a day or two days, not more.”

Karen Aguirre, a reservations executive at Al Marsa Travel & Tourism, did not expect new regulations to affect the coastal town of Dibba, which is accessible only from the UAE and where tourist visas are not required for entry. “There’s no news,” she said. “They might have a plan but we don’t know when that is.”

Ambiguity surrounds border-crossing procedures, which change on a regular basis. Go Tours, a company specialising in visa runs from the UAE to Oman, takes announcements with a grain of salt.

“We hear of rules pretty much every day or couple of days,” said company owner Nick, who asked not to give his last name. “I expect it will be business as usual. One thing I do know is, if they bring it in, it will be absolute pandemonium.”

The website for visas is evisa. rop.gov.om.

It will definitely be a big problem for tour operators ARUNDAS HARIDAS Dolphon Khasab Tours