Oman has decided to bar foreigners from real estate brokerage and restrict the activity to its people and those from other Gulf oil producers.
A decree by Sultan Qaboos of Oman regulating the real estate brokerage business in the country said brokers must not be below 21 years old and only Omanis and citizens from the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members are allowed to practise the profession.
The decree, which was published by Oman Daily Arabic language newspaper Wednesday, said any company involved in real estate brokerage must now be a national institution with an authorised registration and a licence in this field.
“GCC brokers must have a residence in Oman….at least 80 per cent of the staff of the companies involved in this business must be registered as brokers and must have a minimum studies level of a general diploma or equivalent,” it said.
The decision said those who violate the new rules would be jailed for a maximum six months and fined RO3,000 (Dh29,000). Repeating the offence involves a suspension of the licence for six months and in case it is repeated for the third time, offenders could have their licence and registration cancelled.
The decree gave real estate brokerage companies in non-OPEC Oman two years to redress their position and adapt to the new rules.
The GCC groups Oman with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait in a loose economic, political and defence alliance created in 1981.
The group is the largest oil bloc in history, sitting atop nearly 490 billion barrels of proven crude reserves, around 45 per cent of the world’s total oil wealth