“In search of the cure for the travel bug “
How to get a visa for Oman for free?
04 March 2019 By James / LOST SOULS AND PIONEERS.
We couldn’t be more excited for you to get to Oman (its one of our favourites). But before you can explore the 6 best camping spots or decide your Oman itinerary you have to consider the age old hurdle of VISAS. This blog will guide you on how to get a visa for Oman if you fly directly into Dubai. It will also guide you in using the online service for the electronic visa(e-visa).
Firstly, good news, is its straight forward for many people if you’re looking for a tourist visa which is what we will be concentrating on. But……
ALWAYS CHECK BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
Your government site should tell you if you can visit Oman and what visa you need.
You can also head to https://evisa.rop.gov.om/en/types-of-visa for a full list of the visas Available to you.
Dubai/ Oman common visa(Free)
So how do you get the free visa ?
This is a little bit more complicated but Its called a Dubai/Oman common visa.
The idea is to try and improve tourism between Dubai and Oman And If you have a valid visa or entry stamp for Dubai you don’t need to pay for a visa for Oman (FREE) providing you flew into Dubai directly.(we didn’t know this at the time).
How does it work ?
If you arrive in Dubai you will either have a valid visa or be able to get a 30 day entry stamp on arrival. At the Omani border you just have to show them the Dubai visa and they will give you a 3 week visa stamp for free providing your visa for Dubai is valid for at least that period of time. You do not have to apply online and you can just arrive at the border to get this.
To find out about crossing the border by bus check out our blog post here
The catch:
The only down side is its only available for limited nationalises. Click here for the full list of nationalities and more information about the visa.
Top tip;Read the information properly and try not to leave it until midnight to sort out visas.( like us)
E visa for tourists
If you are eligible for a tourist visa ( G1 national) you will need to apply online to get an e-visa( its attached to your passport electronically) Use the official site https://evisa.rop.gov.om/ as there are many sites that look official and can probably get the visa for you but it will be at a premium. The visa should cost the following:
10 day single entry – 5 Omani Rial
30 day single entry – 20 Omani Rial
Entry must be within 1 month of having the visa granted
G1 nationals listed here http://www.rop.gov.om/old/english/countrylist1.asp
NOTE: overstaying your visa will be at the very least 10 Rial per day fine.
The process
Things you till need: Digital copy of passport and passport picture, passport and personal details, mothers name and
Step 1: head to the website official site https://evisa.rop.gov.om/ and click on “apply for a tourist visa”.
Step 2: You will be asked to register your details and you will get an email asking you to verify your email address. Click the link in the email to verify.
Then log into the system to start the visa application.
Step 3:When you have logged in you will be on the home screen. Click on “apply for un-sponsored visa”.
Step 4: enter your county and it will give you the visa options. Select the appropriate one.
Step 5: Next you should be able to follow the application starting with personal details and then addtional infomation,
Step 6:Then you must add a passport photo and copy of passport. We used a copy we had scanned at home and then took a photo on our phones of a spare passport picture which worked. There is a maximum document upload size so you may have to reduce the file size. We used a free app called Reduce lite.
Finally, you must CONFIRM ALL DETAILS ARE CORRECT check the summary and then pay and submit the application. Visa times vary but could be as fast as 24 hours.
A story about what happened to us.
We never planned it but because our laptop broke and was being fixed we had 10 days to wait until we could get a cheap enough flight. We didn’t want to wait that long in Dubai so looked for other options. Oman was the perfect escape accept we had to leave the hostel the next day with absolutely no visa or solid plans in place.
So around 12am we decided we would go to Oman and sat up late trying to mess about getting the E visa and book a car hire. We had no idea if we would get the visa in time. We waited nervously for the visa and got excited with every email that came though.
But then it was time to board the bus with no visa but we though we would risk it, that’s what makes travel exciting right? So we got on the bus and in our slightly worried state we read the visa information again and realised we were able to make use of the new Dubai Oman joint visa as we had flown into Dubai. Out mistake, how did we miss it?
Well on the list of countries entitled to use this we were looking for Unite kingdom, Great Britain, England but none of the above appeared. It was listed as BRITAIN which we completely over looked. But the visa did come through or at least we think it did because we didn’t get the email until much later but the guys at customs seemed like they thought we had a visa even though it wasn’t needed in the end.
So anyway that was a waste of 5 Rial. But hey we made the mistake so you guys wont have to. Take note and check the country is listed.
If you notice any mistakes or have any new relevant information then please let us know so we can update accordingly for the benefit of all our fellow travellers. We try our best to give you accurate information but make sure you do your own research as well as we won’t be held liable if you do not check the information for your own circumstances as each traveller is different.
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