The number of home businesses registered has almost doubled in a year as the economy diversifies away from oil and gas, which is good news for citizens who can launch home businesses for as little as OMR 3 a year.
Expats can benefit if the businesses expand, according to the Times of Oman.
Currently, expats are not allowed to operate businesses from home, but can be employed by Omanis if the business model is a success, which can benefit expats following a freeze on issuing work visas to expats for 87 job roles at the beginning of this year. The announcement came in line with the Omani Government’s efforts to address unemployment among its citizens.
“Home businesses can be practiced by Omani citizens only. These small enterprises can boost the income of the practitioners and prepare citizens to expand by opening shops, small and medium enterprises, in the future, which will contribute to the national economy,” an official from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) said in a statement.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oman's Retail Sector Could Generate 50,000 Jobs
More Than 26,000 Omani Citizens Employed as Part of the Country’s Recruitment Drive
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The fee to commercially register a home business is only OMR3 for three years, allowing business owners to keep their overheads low, although the commercial registration is not binding on house business owners, but it is preferable to frame a business in the legal framework, either as a domestic business, a hawker, an institution or a trading company, the statement by MoCI added.
The Ministry said home businesses should document their activities through commercial registration to build credibility with the customer.
