Here's what you need to keep in mind while applying for a low-pay family visa

Energy Sunday 08/October/2017 22:01 PM
By: Times News Service
Here's what you need to keep in mind while applying for a low-pay family visa

Muscat: Expat workers with salaries of OMR300 and above who want to bring their families to live in Oman must show proof of rental contracts and salary, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) said on Sunday.
Read here: Expats with salary OMR300 can bring families to Oman
The tweet from the ROP reads: “Regulations on familial residency to foreign employees. The expat that wants to bring his family, must have an income of no less than OMR300 per month. The expat’s Ministry of Manpower information form will be consulted in addition to a bank statement showing the expat’s salary deposit for at least the past three months. The expat must have a residence rented in his/her name or the name of the employer, the contract will be consulted by the appropriate authority for confirmation.”
Read also: 'New expat family visa rule will boost Oman economy'
Earlier, the minimum salary for a family joining visa was OMR600. The move by the Royal Oman Police to lower that bracket was welcomed as a shot in the arm for the Omani economy by chamber of commerce members, who are convinced the move will drive the economy forward.
In a statement online Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry said: “The OCCI expresses its deepest thanks to the Royal Oman Police for their contribution to the amendment of the salary clause in the conditions for the issuance of a family visa for expats from OMR600 to OMR300, as this decision will lead to the growth of the real estate, tourism, and commercial sector, and increase the rate of power and the circulation of money within the Sultanate, in addition to attracting foreign capital.”
The move has led experts to believe that expats in Oman will now spend more money locally, thereby having a good overall effect on the economy of the Sultanate. Ahmed Saif Al Barwani, member of Shura Council and vice chairman of the Youth and Human Resources Committee, had earlier said: “There are approximately $4.3 billion transferred abroad annually by only expatriates and not companies; therefore, this decision comes to ensure that at least some of these amounts remain in the Sultanate and are not transferred abroad, since they would already have their families in Oman.”