DUBAI: Oman’s government has extended the expat visa ban for a further six months in certain professions and industries, national daily Times of Oman reported. The ban covers a number of jobs, most noticeably in industries like sales and marketing and procurement. The Ministry of Manpower first introduced the visa ban in January, 2018 as it worked to reduce the number of unemployed locals in the country as part of the Omanization project. The ban has been extended a number of times since it was introduced. Approximately 55,000 expatriates who previously worked in Oman have been dismissed by companies in one year, up to March, 2019, according to data published by the Omani government. In Qatar, the expat workforce was as high as 95 percent while in the UAE it was 94 percent; 83 percent in Kuwait; 64 percent in Bahrain and 49 percent in Saudi Arabia. The Gulf states have since launched nationalization programs to absorb more of their citizens into the labor force, as well as address high levels of unemployment. Copyright: Arab News © 2019 All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). Disclaimer: The content of this article is syndicated or provided to this website from an external third party provider. We are not responsible for, and do not control, such external websites, entities, applications or media publishers. The body of the text is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither we nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this article. Read our full disclaimer policy here.
