Omanis no longer need approval to marry foreigners
Oman has changed its law to allow citizens to marry foreigners without needing government approval.
The changes were announced by royal decree from Sultan Haitham on Sunday.
The decree, to be published in the country’s Official Gazette, included seven articles, with the first cancelling the previous legislation and all decisions based on it. Foreign marriage certificates will be treated as Omani documents once attested by the authorities of both countries, the decree said.
In Oman, the certificates must be attested by the Foreign Ministry.
Certificates dated before the new legislation comes into force will also be considered valid once attested, despite breaking the law when they were issued, the decree said.
It called on officials to “implement the provisions of this decree, each in their own areas of jurisdiction”.
Only in “certain public jobs of significance or special nature” that stipulate not being married to a foreigner as a condition of employment, does the law not apply, the legislation said.
The law “shall not prejudice the provisions of the Islamic Sharia”, it said.
During the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, divorce rates rose by almost 50 per cent in Oman, with pressures caused by the pandemic thought to be the main cause.
Divorcees blamed job losses and the emotional stress caused by the fallout from the crisis for putting strain on their relationships.
Statistics showed there were 1,113 divorces in the country in 2020, a 49.5 per cent rise on the previous year. Expatriates accounted for about 60 per cent of the break-ups.