Oman set to relax visa ban on Bangladeshis

The government of Oman has decided to relax the visa ban, which was imposed last October, against Bangladeshis. Embassy of Sultanate of Oman in Bangladesh issued a press statement in this regard on Wednesday.

It said: "A decision was taken lately by the relevant authorities in Oman to exempt certain categories of Bangladeshi nationals from the visa ban issued in October of last year.'

"The exempted categories are: family visas, visitation visas for citizens of Bangladesh residing in GCC countries, physician, engineer, nurse, teacher, accountant, investor, all types of official visas and high income tourists," added the press statement.

According to it, the Oman embassy in Dhaka will receive and process all applications from applicants belonging to the above-mentioned categories and will coordinate duly with Royal Oman Police (ROP) to issue the visa.

"All applications must be submitted with documentation duly attested to verify the eligibility of the applicant for the requested visa. Processing of applications will take one to four weeks depending on the particulars of each application," it said.

Authorities from both countries are reportedly working to lift the ban as soon as possible.

"It is noteworthy to recall and reiterate that the ban is absolutely apolitical in nature and it was undertaken purely for technical reasons pertaining to the regular and ongoing review process of the foreign Labor market in Oman.

"Oman and Bangladesh enjoy excellent bilateral relations that are constantly growing and expanding in many fields under the wise and enlightened leadership of both the Bangladeshi and Omani governments respectively," the embassy note said.