Oman's expatriate workers' number declines by 17 per cent

The National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) of Oman has recorded a fall in expatriate workers in Oman by 17 per cent during the first nine months of this year.

NCSI recorded 1,138,478 expatriate workers in the private sector by the end of October 2020. The data also displayed 42,895 foreign workers in various government sectors, while 253,697 people were listed as a family and dependent relatives. According to the October bulletin of the NCSI, a total of 263,392 workers of different nationalities left the Sultanate from January to September this year.

Though there are now less than half a million Indian workers residing in Oman by the end of the third quarter, 499,431 Indians still represent the core expatriate group in the sultanate, Times of Oman reported. The Indian expatriates numbered 542,091 in July, while the numbers dropped to 517,702 in August. The labour population of Oman's expat Indians at the end of 2019 was totalled 617,730.

Other expat communities have also recorded a fall in their numbers. A 13.9 per cent and 15.7 per cent decline decline was recorded in Bangladeshi and Pakistani expat population respectively, since the last year.

The Ministry of Labour has received 7,689 expatriate applications for a permanent exit from the sultanate since online registration began on November 15. The scheme is open till December 31 and it aims to enable the non-Omani workforce to leave the country permanently and excuse employers from all dues and penalties resultant from the expiration of work permits.