Relocation intelligence

🇴🇲 Moving to Oman: tax, residency and cost of living

0% income tax, from 2028 max 5% above ± € 95,000

Thinking of moving to Oman? Here is the tax, residency, property and quality-of-life picture in plain numbers, with sources.

Key facts

Top income tax
0%
Corporate tax
15%
Capital gains
0%
Wealth tax
No
Inheritance tax
No
Cost of living index
44
Safety
8/10
Internet quality
7/10
Visa-free destinations
85
Foreigners can own property
Yes
Residency in
6 months
Citizenship in
5 years

Taxes

Oman levies no income tax in 2026: salaries, dividends, interest and individuals' capital gains stay untaxed, and there is no wealth, inheritance or gift tax. But it is decided: as the first Gulf state, Oman introduces a 5% income tax on income above OMR 42,000 (± € 95,000) per year from 1 January 2028 (Royal Decree 56/2025); around 99% of residents stay outside it, and new residents get a one-off exemption for foreign income in their first 18 months. VAT is 5%; expat employees pay no social contributions.

Residency and visas

Since 31 August 2025, Oman runs a national investor programme through the digital Invest Oman platform: a 10-year Golden Visa for OMR 500,000 (± € 1.1m) in property, a company or government bonds, and a 5-year Silver Visa for OMR 250,000 (± € 570,000). Both are renewable, need no local sponsor and include spouse and children. Over-60s with a fixed income of OMR 4,000 (± € 9,000) per month can apply for a 5-year retirement permit; working runs through a classic employer visa.

Property ownership

Foreigners buy property only within designated Integrated Tourism Complexes (Law 29/2018): there, full freehold or usufruct up to 99 years applies, with free rental, resale and inheritance, and from OMR 250,000 a linked residence right via the investor programme. Outside those complexes a non-Omani cannot register ownership; agricultural land and areas such as Musandam are excluded entirely. GCC citizens have broader rights. There is no annual property tax.

Cost of living and quality of life

Oman ranks fourth in the world and first in Asia for quality of life in the Numbeo index 2026: very safe, affordable (cost index ± 44) and with a life expectancy above 80 years. Muscat is modern yet calmer and more traditional than Dubai, with mountains, wadis and a long coastline; English works widely in the cities. The flip side: extremely hot summers (45°C), a car-dependent life and Western Europe ± 8 flying hours away, usually with one stop via Dubai or Doha.

Passport and mobility

The Omani passport ranks 57th on the Henley index 2026 with 85 visa-free destinations, mostly in the region and Asia; Schengen, the UK and the US still require a visa. Naturalisation takes 20 years of uninterrupted residence (at most 60 days away per year), Arabic proficiency and renouncing your original nationality, and even then remains discretionary and rare. The passport is therefore not a realistic goal; the right of residence itself is very manageable.

Residency and visas

  • Golden Visa (10 jaar, verlengbaar; sinds 31-8-2025 via Invest Oman): OMR 500.000 in vastgoed, een LLC/beursgenoteerd bedrijf of staatsobligaties, óf een bedrijf met ≥ 50 Omaanse werknemers (geen minimuminvestering); fee OMR 551; gezin inbegrepen, geen lokale sponsor · €1,135,000
  • Silver Visa (5 jaar, verlengbaar): OMR 250.000 in vastgoed of een bedrijf; fee OMR 326; gezin inbegrepen; obligatie-/deposito-/MSX-routes vanaf OMR 200.000 in secundaire bronnen gemeld (inconsistent met Trowers OMR 500.000, bij integratie checken) · €570,000
  • Pensioenvergunning (5 jaar): 60-plussers met vast inkomen ≥ OMR 4.000/mnd (± € 9.000/mnd; hoge drempel, confidence medium: alleen secundair bevestigd) · €109,000/j
  • Werkvisum via werkgever (2 jaar, verlengbaar; klassieke sponsorroute, gebonden aan de arbeidsrelatie)

Why people move to Oman

  • 0% income tax today, at most 5% from 2028

    As a resident of Oman you pay not a cent of income tax in 2026: no payroll tax, no tax on dividends, interest or capital gains, and no wealth, inheritance or gift tax either. Oman is, however, the first Gulf state to have announced an income tax: from 2028, 5% applies above OMR 42,000 (± € 95,000) per year, with a one-off exemption for foreign income in your first 18 months. Even after that, the tax burden remains among the lowest in the world.

  • Golden Visa without a sponsor, family included

    The programme launched in August 2025 makes residence in Oman plannable: 10 years for OMR 500,000 (± € 1.1m) or 5 years for OMR 250,000 (± € 570,000) in property, a company or government bonds, both renewable and without a local sponsor. Spouse and children fall under the same permit, and the application runs digitally via Invest Oman. For over-60s with a fixed monthly income of OMR 4,000 (± € 9,000) there is a separate 5-year retirement route.

  • World's number 4 in quality of life

    In the Numbeo index 2026, Oman ranks fourth worldwide and first in Asia for quality of life: one of the safest countries on earth, a cost level well below Western Europe and a life expectancy above 80 years. If you find Dubai too busy and too polished, Muscat offers mountains, wadis, a long coastline and a calm, traditional rhythm, with the rest of the Gulf an hour's flight away.

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Sources

Other destinations

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