DUBAI — Foreign workers in Oman can now switch jobs from one company to another upon furnishing proof of the end of work contract or its termination, according to a new decision issued by the Royal Oman Police on Sunday.

The decision will be published in the Official Gazette and will take effect starting January 2021.

Expatriates accounted for 41.7 percent of the total population of Oman by the end of the first quarter of 2020, according to the National Center for Statistics and Information.

Lt. Gen. Hassan Bin Mohsin Al Shraiqi, Inspector General of Police and Customs, issued the decision to amend some provisions of the executive regulations of the Law on the Residence of Foreigners, according to a report in Gulf News.

Article No. 1 says: “Article 24 of the executive regulations of the Law on the Residence of Foreigners is replaced by the following text: “It is permissible for a foreigner to transfer from one employer to another, provided the employer has a license to recruit workers, on condition that they provide proof of the end of work contract or termination of it. They must also provide evidence of the approval of the competent government authority on allowing the signed contract with the second employer and it must be in accordance with the controls set by the competent authority.“The transfer of a expat’s residency shall result in the transfer of the residence of his family members to the second employer, if the conditions necessary for his residency are met.”

Lt. Gen. Al Shraiqi added that until the procedures for transferring the residence are completed, the responsibility of the first employer remains with regards to everything related to the residence of the expats. — Agencies