Use the current law
Royal Decree 17/2025 replaced the earlier nationality law. The ordinary naturalisation and marriage periods therefore should not be copied from older service pages. Nationality is granted by royal decree on the minister’s recommendation; eligibility does not create a guaranteed passport timetable.
Golden Residency is a residence programme. The nationality law includes exceptional royal discretion, but it does not create a public citizenship-by-investment product for anyone who buys property or establishes a company.
Ordinary naturalisation
Article 17 permits an application after at least 15 years of continuous lawful residence. Absences of no more than 90 days in a year do not prevent continuity. The applicant must read and write Arabic, meet conduct and conviction conditions, satisfy the specified medical condition and have lawful income sufficient for the applicant and dependants.
The applicant must give the required written declaration to renounce the other nationality and confirm that no additional nationality is held beyond the one to be renounced. The authority may reject a request under the law’s discretion. Do not renounce a nationality without a confirmed individual legal process.
Marriage routes are different for husbands and wives
| Issue | Practical meaning |
|---|---|
| Foreign husband of an Omani woman — Article 18 | At least 10 years of marriage and continuous lawful co-residence in Oman, a child of the marriage, Arabic reading/writing and the route’s conduct, medical, income and renunciation conditions. |
| Foreign wife of an Omani man — Article 19 | At least 8 years of marriage and continuous lawful co-residence, a child of the marriage, spoken Arabic, conduct/conviction and renunciation conditions. |
| Continuity | The relevant routes allow absence of no more than 90 days in a year without breaking continuity. |
| No automatic grant | Marriage does not itself confer nationality; statutory conditions and the decree process remain. |
Widowhood and divorce
Article 20 provides a route for a foreign widow after at least six years of widowhood and lawful continuous residence, with a child of the Omani husband and other specified conditions, including not being married to a non-Omani. The precise language, conduct, health and renunciation conditions must be applied to the route.
Article 21 addresses a divorced foreign wife. It requires at least eight years of marriage and lawful continuous residence with the husband before divorce, a child of the marriage, no marriage to a non-Omani and the additional statutory language, conduct, health, income and renunciation conditions. These routes should not be replaced with the ordinary 15-year naturalisation rule.
Descent and children
The law distinguishes original nationality from nationality acquired by grant. Paternal descent has central importance, but the father’s legal status and the child’s birth circumstances must be checked under Articles 11–15. An Omani mother does not automatically transmit nationality in every marriage to a foreign father.
The law gives specific protection where paternity is not established and for foundlings. Article 22 has a conditional route for a minor child of an Omani mother and foreign father, including widowhood/divorce or judicially established long absence, maternal custody and five- or ten-year residence conditions depending on the case. This is not a blanket maternal-descent rule.
When a father acquires nationality under the relevant naturalisation provisions, minor children can follow if born in Oman or ordinarily resident there. The law defines a minor as under 18. Ordinary immigration’s under-21 family rule is a different concept.
Restoration and former nationals
Article 13 allows an original Omani who renounced nationality and acquired another to seek restoration under residence/return-intention, conduct and renunciation conditions. Article 14 provides a separate time-limited application for a child who lost nationality following the father, within five years after reaching majority. The family’s original records and the exact loss decision matter.
Dual nationality and retention
Dual nationality is not generally permitted: Article 5 requires royal-decree permission on the minister’s recommendation. Acquiring another nationality without the required process can trigger loss under Article 23. Exceptional permission is not a general entitlement.
The law also contains route-specific retention risks. A naturalised foreign husband’s divorce or abandonment within five years of acquisition and a naturalised foreign wife’s specified later marriage circumstances have separate provisions. Naturalised status can be withdrawn for an unjustified continuous absence exceeding 24 months, alongside other statutory grounds. Review the actual status rather than relying on a generic dual-passport comparison.
Same-sex couples and family recognition
The Personal Status Law defines marriage in a male–female framework. The reviewed nationality rules do not establish a same-sex-spouse route, and ordinary residence guidance should not be read as automatic recognition of a foreign same-sex marriage. An independent residence analysis is needed for each partner.
Preparing a nationality assessment
- Identify the precise article, including the original/naturalised distinction and any former-national history.
- Collect birth, parentage, marriage, divorce, widowhood and custody evidence applicable to the route.
- Prepare lawful residence and absence records for the correct statutory period.
- Check the route’s Arabic, conduct, income, medical and renunciation conditions individually.
- Obtain the competent authority’s current document and filing instructions; no guaranteed decision time is established by these eligibility periods.
Sources & research notes3 references
Sources supporting this guide. Research draft awaiting editorial review.