Most content on "Oman golden visa" stops at one program and one set of numbers. That's half the picture. As of June 2026, Oman runs two separate residency-through-property routes with different rules, different costs, and different property eligibility, and conflating them is the single most common mistake buyers make when planning around residency. This guide covers both, in full, including the newer one most existing articles haven't caught up to yet.
The Golden Residency Program#
This is Oman's flagship investor residency route, run jointly by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion and the Royal Oman Police. It started life as the Investor Residency Programme in October 2021. On 31 August 2025 it was relaunched as the 10-year Golden Residency, with a single, lower entry point.
The threshold since the relaunch:
| Qualifying investment | Residency granted | Renewable |
|---|---|---|
| OMR 200,000+ | 10 years | Yes |
The relaunch lowered the entry point from the old two-tier figures (OMR 250,000 for 5 years, OMR 500,000 for 10) to one 10-year permit from OMR 200,000. Property is one of seven qualifying routes; the others include setting up a company, government development bonds, listed shares and five-year fixed bank deposits. For property buyers, the requirement that matters most is location, and it is the one buyers most often overlook:
- The property has to sit inside a designated Integrated Tourism Complex (ITC). This isn't paperwork, it's the entire foundation of the program. ITCs are the specific, licensed freehold zones created under Royal Decree 12/2006, and the property route to Golden Residency doesn't exist outside them.
- Spouse, children and first-degree relatives can be included under the primary applicant, with no restriction on age or number.
- Applicant conditions reported at launch: age 21 or over, no criminal record, valid health insurance and a minimum net worth of OMR 200,000.
- Benefits beyond residency: dedicated lanes at airports and border crossings, permission to employ up to three domestic workers, sponsorship of temporary visitors, and the right to own property outside ITCs in areas otherwise open to non-Omani ownership.
- This is residency, not a citizenship track. A 10-year Golden Residency doesn't shorten Oman's separate, considerably stricter naturalization requirements.
Where this route actually applies#
Four developments we track pricing and yield data for on this site are established ITCs eligible under this program:
- Al Mouj Muscat — Oman's flagship freehold waterfront ITC and the reference point most expat buyers compare everything else against.
- Muscat Hills — a golf-course ITC community near Muscat International Airport.
- Hawana Salalah — Oman's largest beachfront resort ITC, with a rental market driven heavily by Dhofar's Khareef monsoon season.
- Muscat Bay — an ultra-luxury coastal ITC at Bandar Jissah near Qantab, set in a natural bay between the Hajar Mountains and the sea, with deliberately limited supply and among the highest total prices tracked on this site.
Jebel Sifah and AIDA at Yiti are also established ITCs under this route. Here's the one check every serious buyer should run before signing anything: confirm the specific development's current ITC licensing directly with the developer or MOCIIP. ITC status is a legal designation, not a marketing word. Plenty of listings use "freehold" loosely; only a licensed ITC actually confers the ownership and residency rights this program requires.
The Owner's Residence Permit — Oman's newer, quieter route#
Here's what most "Oman golden visa" content has missed entirely: in June 2026, Oman opened a second path to residency that operates on completely different terms. Royal Oman Police Decision No. 87/2026, published in the Official Gazette on 21 June and effective the next day, created the Owner's Residence Permit.
This program exists to solve a different problem than the Golden Residency does. Where Golden Residency rewards a larger commitment with a 10-year visa and extra benefits, the Owner's Residence Permit has no reported price floor and trades that for a shorter runway:
- No reported minimum property value.
- For foreign owners of residential units, and representatives of property-owning companies, including land designated for development and, subject to approval, property that has not finished registration.
- It does not widen where you can buy. Ownership is still limited to the zones open to foreigners: ITCs, the designated future cities and integrated neighbourhoods. See where foreigners can buy property in Oman.
- No local sponsor required, based on certification from the competent authority.
- Extends to first-degree relatives.
- Permits for not-yet-registered property run 6 months to 1 year, renewable, rather than a flat 10 years.
- Tied to the property: the permit lapses for the owner and family if the property is sold or otherwise transferred.
- None of the Golden Residency's extra benefits (airport lanes, domestic workers, visitor sponsorship) have been reported for this permit.
This is Oman's on-ramp for owners who want residency attached to a property purchase without meeting the Golden Residency's OMR 200,000 floor, and who are fine trading that for a shorter, renewable term instead of a decade-long grant.
Golden Residency vs. Owner's Residence Permit#
| Golden Residency Program | Owner's Residence Permit | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum investment | OMR 200,000 | None reported |
| Qualifying property | ITC property (one of seven routes) | Residential property in zones open to foreign ownership, registered or, with approval, not yet registered |
| Duration | 10 years, renewable | 6 months to 1 year for not-yet-registered property, renewable |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Dependents | Spouse, children, first-degree relatives, no age or number limit | First-degree relatives |
| Applicant conditions | Age 21+, no criminal record, health insurance | Certification from the competent authority |
| Extra benefits | Airport lanes, up to 3 domestic workers, visitor sponsorship, may own outside ITCs | None reported |
| Launched/relaunched | 31 Aug 2025 | June 2026 |
The choice between them comes down to one question: are you making a large, specific ITC investment you'd want the longer-term privileges for anyway, or do you want the lowest-friction way to attach residency to a property you're already buying? Golden Residency is built for the first buyer. The Owner's Permit is built for the second.
The mistakes that cost buyers time#
Assuming ownership alone grants residency. Both routes require an active application after purchase. Buying the property is step one, not the finish line.
Blending the two programs' numbers. The OMR 200,000 threshold belongs to Golden Residency only. So do the old OMR 250,000 and 500,000 figures you will still see quoted elsewhere; they predate the August 2025 relaunch. No minimum has been reported for the Owner's Permit. Treating these as one program with contradictory rules is the fastest way to misjudge your own eligibility.
Assuming this leads to citizenship. It doesn't, on either route.
Skipping the ITC verification step. If you're targeting Golden Residency specifically, confirm your target property's current ITC licensing before you get financially committed to it. Our freehold and ITC buying guide walks through exactly how that verification works.
Where residency fits into the actual decision#
Residency eligibility should be one input into your property decision, not the whole thesis. The property still has to work on its own terms: competitive price per sqft, a real rental yield, a developer with a credible delivery track record. Run the numbers with our yield calculator or get matched to areas that fit your budget with the AI Property Advisor, both built on the same real, cited price and yield data shown on every area page on this site.
Program rules here have already changed twice in under a year. Before you apply, confirm the current terms directly with Invest Oman, the Royal Oman Police, or a licensed Omani immigration consultant, not from any single article, including this one.