Starting a business in Oman: foreigner's guide (2026)

Up to 100% foreign equity is permitted across most sectors under Royal Decree 50/2019. Ministerial Decision 209/2020 (now covering 123 activities following subsequent expansions) reserves certain sectors—including traditional Omani crafts, specific retail categories, taxi services, hair-dressing, and small service trades—exclusively for Omani nationals or their companies.

The Limited Liability Company (LLC, 2–50 shareholders) is the standard vehicle for foreign investors; a Single-Person Company (SPC) is available for sole owners. Both structures permit 100% foreign ownership outside negative-list activities and are registered under the Commercial Companies Law (Royal Decree 18/2019).

The Commercial Companies Law (RD 18/2019) imposes a general LLC minimum capital of OMR 20,000 (approx. USD 52,000), fully paid up at registration. Regulated sectors such as banking, insurance, and finance carry higher statutory minimums. Free-zone entities (e.g., Sohar, Duqm, Salalah) may operate under lower or zero capital-floor requirements.

Formation involves: (1) trade-name reservation on the Invest Easy portal; (2) drafting and notarising the Memorandum/Articles of Association; (3) depositing capital in an Omani bank; (4) electronic submission to MOCIIP with lease agreement, shareholder IDs, and MOA; (5) Oman Chamber of Commerce registration; (6) tax-card issuance; (7) labour-ministry enrollment. The full process typically takes 2–4 weeks; MOCIIP data show 89% of commercial activities are approved automatically without manual review.

The Invest Easy portal (business.gov.om), operated by MOCIIP, integrates more than 50 government services—including name reservation, commercial registration, municipal licensing, and chamber enrollment—into a single electronic window. In 2024 alone, over 827,000 transactions were processed through the portal, a 15% year-on-year increase.

A registered commercial office address in Oman is mandatory for mainland registration; a signed and municipality-registered lease agreement must be submitted as part of the MOCIIP application package. Virtual offices are generally not accepted for standard mainland commercial registrations.