MUSCAT A two-year ban on switching jobs by expatriates will come into effect from July 1.
The Royal Oman Police (ROP), in coordination with other authorities concerned, announced on Saturday that employment visas will not be issued to expatriates for two years after leaving a company.
The move is in accordance with the norms of the expatriates Residency Law.
Earlier, the Ministry of Manpower had extended by six months a ban on recruiting expatriate construction workers and housekeeping staff in the private sector with effect from May 4, continuing a six-month ban which was due to expire on May 1.
The move to regularise the labour market comes in response to the demographic changes seen in the job market.
Oman wants to limit the proportion of expatriates in the private sector from 39 per cent to 33 per cent. Citizens constitute 55.8 per cent of the population, while expatriates make up the rest.
Of the nearly 1.76 million expatriates, 1.53 million are employees. The rest are their family members, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information.
