Oman Visa Advice
Jan 29, 2019, 11:06 pm
#16
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So to confirm, you (plural) US and EU passport holders have been allowed to board QR flights to Oman in 2019, without getting visas in advance, and were allowed to buy the visas when arriving in MCT using OMR cash?
Can you clarify the process at the new airport? Are there many people buying visas on arrival or do most people do the e-visa?
Any other airlines, and any other airports besides MCT?
Can you clarify the process at the new airport? Are there many people buying visas on arrival or do most people do the e-visa?
Any other airlines, and any other airports besides MCT?
2. There is a visa on arrivals counter (usually staffed by two people) where you pay and get the visa on arrival receipt/paper. This is in a relatively open area before heading to the passport control line area. There were 0-9 persons in line ahead at the visa on arrivals desk when we have been doing it this year at the new MCT airport, but we are so late to get to the passport control area and visa on arrivals area after landing — nothing to do with MCT/Oman in particular — that I can’t speak to what proportion of passengers on my flights were using visa on arrival. The passport control line processing took longer than the visa on arrival acquisition process even when there were no passengers ahead of us in line.
3. For us, just coming into MCT. Mainly coming in from DOH on QR, but not only. I don’t go to Salalah, but I would be surprised if it doesn’t have much the same kind of thing too given it gets some European charter tourist flights, including from some relatively poorer parts of the EU.
The new MCT airport seems to be the cleanest airport I’ve ever seen.
Last edited by GUWonder; Jan 29, 2019 at 11:25 pm
Jan 30, 2019, 1:24 am
#17
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I ended up booking the cheapest hotel room I could find (~£20) just to be on the safe side. Didn't get asked for any proof but better safe than sorry. At least I had somewhere to take a shower then store my bags whilst I explored the city LOL.
Jan 30, 2019, 1:28 am
#18
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I don’t know if there is a currency exchange in the area between the arrival gates and passport control at MCT, as I don’t recall seeing any and wasn’t looking for any, but I think I saw an ATM machine or some other kiosk somewhere in the area facing the visa on arrivals counter or just nearby to it, and maybe it could have been a cash dispensing machine.]
Jan 30, 2019, 8:38 am
#19
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So to confirm, you (plural) US and EU passport holders have been allowed to board QR flights to Oman in 2019, without getting visas in advance, and were allowed to buy the visas when arriving in MCT using OMR cash?
Can you clarify the process at the new airport? Are there many people buying visas on arrival or do most people do the e-visa?
Any other airlines, and any other airports besides MCT?
Can you clarify the process at the new airport? Are there many people buying visas on arrival or do most people do the e-visa?
Any other airlines, and any other airports besides MCT?
Many people take up the e-visa option, i guess because it can save time on arrival. Still there's usually a queue at the VOA desk, but it's a slick operation.
I wouldn't sweat this too much. I visit frequently and I haven't experienced problems at my departure airport. No Omani immigration official has made me feel uneasy, unwelcome or quizzed me on hotel arrangements: indeed they have been consistently helpful.
I'm not sure why the UK government website suggests you should arrange a visa in advance. Both US and Canadian equivalent sites advise of the existence of visas on arrival.
Jan 30, 2019, 8:47 am
#20
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Oman has largely ditched the attempts to enforce the e-visa regime for all nationalities/passport holders, and has back-tracked on the elimination of short term OMR5 visas.
Many people take up the e-visa option, i guess because it can save time on arrival. Still there's usually a queue at the VOA desk, but it's a slick operation.
I wouldn't sweat this too much. I visit frequently and I haven't experienced problems at my departure airport. No Omani immigration official has made me feel uneasy, unwelcome or quizzed me on hotel arrangements: indeed they have been consistently helpful.
I'm not sure why the UK government website suggests you should arrange a visa in advance. Both US and Canadian equivalent sites advise of the existence of visas on arrival.
Many people take up the e-visa option, i guess because it can save time on arrival. Still there's usually a queue at the VOA desk, but it's a slick operation.
I wouldn't sweat this too much. I visit frequently and I haven't experienced problems at my departure airport. No Omani immigration official has made me feel uneasy, unwelcome or quizzed me on hotel arrangements: indeed they have been consistently helpful.
I'm not sure why the UK government website suggests you should arrange a visa in advance. Both US and Canadian equivalent sites advise of the existence of visas on arrival.
Mar 23, 2019, 7:27 am
#22
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On balance it might be better to knuckle down and get an Evisa. It's not that much hard work, you save time at MCT and you avoid a £2 administration fee
Apr 15, 2019, 7:43 pm
#23
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You're OK. But as with all things visa related, the problem is what the airline makes of the situation. If their reading is that a visa is required you could have a problem at LHR.
On balance it might be better to knuckle down and get an Evisa. It's not that much hard work, you save time at MCT and you avoid a £2 administration fee
On balance it might be better to knuckle down and get an Evisa. It's not that much hard work, you save time at MCT and you avoid a £2 administration fee
Apr 15, 2019, 8:11 pm
#24
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Given the number of countries using this type of visa, all needing passport scan and photo, it's maybe a good idea to have these two items tucked away in a file on your computer.
In applying, please do be careful to avoid the sharks that try to mislead you into using - and paying for - their services to submit your visa (unless, of course, you somehow place value on the additional services they offer).
The official online link through the Royal Oman Police (ROP) is:
https://evisa.rop.gov.om
May 12, 2019, 7:04 am
#25
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US citizen here. I tried for an e-visa in January. Completed the application, uploaded my passport and a separate passport quality photo, paid the fee. The separate photo was not accepted - 'not clear'. I tried twice more with different pictures and got the 'not clear' both times. Gave up and received a VOA, so I had to essentially pay the fee twice. (I didn't want to argue at the VOA counter - it was 3 AM and there was a language barrier.) The other unclear part was that I had good information that if I was stamped into Qatar, I would not need a VOA for Oman. I was stamped into Qatar (left the airport) 24 hours earlier, but the VOA counter seemed to have no knowledge of that either. Note that QR did not inquire as to my visa status when I checked-in at IAD.
May 12, 2019, 12:11 pm
#26
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US citizen here. I tried for an e-visa in January. Completed the application, uploaded my passport and a separate passport quality photo, paid the fee. The separate photo was not accepted - 'not clear'. I tried twice more with different pictures and got the 'not clear' both times. Gave up and received a VOA, so I had to essentially pay the fee twice. (I didn't want to argue at the VOA counter - it was 3 AM and there was a language barrier.) The other unclear part was that I had good information that if I was stamped into Qatar, I would not need a VOA for Oman. I was stamped into Qatar (left the airport) 24 hours earlier, but the VOA counter seemed to have no knowledge of that either. Note that QR did not inquire as to my visa status when I checked-in at IAD.
Question.....was the VOA in Oman a pretty seamless process after everything was said a done?
May 12, 2019, 2:02 pm
#27
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Thanks for providing your experience. I'm thinking now to just get a VOA and not deal with any glitches. I'll be flying from Dubai to Muscat and I've read that having a recent UAE visa stamped in your passport would make getting a VOA in Oman easier. I guess I'll find out.
Question.....was the VOA in Oman a pretty seamless process after everything was said a done?
Question.....was the VOA in Oman a pretty seamless process after everything was said a done?
May 13, 2019, 12:17 am
#28
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The other unclear part was that I had good information that if I was stamped into Qatar, I would not need a VOA for Oman.
I was stamped into Qatar (left the airport) 24 hours earlier, but the VOA counter seemed to have no knowledge of that either. Note that QR did not inquire as to my visa status when I checked-in at IAD.
I was stamped into Qatar (left the airport) 24 hours earlier, but the VOA counter seemed to have no knowledge of that either. Note that QR did not inquire as to my visa status when I checked-in at IAD.
In any case, the visa on arrival desk is there to sell you a visa. The agents are not immigration officials: you'd need to take the Qatar question to the immigration desk to get it resolved. My last entry on a Dubai visa was a challenge at the immigration desk, and required the intervention of a supervisor.
May 13, 2019, 12:38 am
#29
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Thanks for providing your experience. I'm thinking now to just get a VOA and not deal with any glitches. I'll be flying from Dubai to Muscat and I've read that having a recent UAE visa stamped in your passport would make getting a VOA in Oman easier. I guess I'll find out.
Question.....was the VOA in Oman a pretty seamless process after everything was said a done?
Question.....was the VOA in Oman a pretty seamless process after everything was said a done?
The e-visa advantages are simply that it is a little cheaper than the VOA, and avoids the slight hassle of going through the above process. Some prefer to move the hassle a spare half hour at home.
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If you want (free) entry under a common visa agreement, it's not a UAE visa you need, it's a Dubai visa: and you must travel to Oman directly from Dubai.
If you ant to follo this path, it's probably a good idea to tell the immigration agent at Dubai that you are going to Oman and want to the appropriate visa to allow you to use the common entry agreement between the two countries.
May 13, 2019, 11:11 am
#30
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You needed to have purchased the Qatar-Oman joint visa from the Qatari immigration agent, which AFAIK is supposed to cost QAR 50 (= OMR 5.282).