Unvaccinated Travelers are Still Required to Quarantine Upon Entry

Merge 104.8  |  02 September 2021

The Supreme Committee issued a statement online, clarifying the decisions that were issued on August 2021. Here’s what you need to know:

  • All passengers entering the Sultanate must be fully vaccinated by a Coronavirus vaccine that is approved for use in Oman, with the final dose taken at least 14 days before their scheduled arrival date. The approved vaccines are Pfizer-BioNTech, Sputnik V, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Covishield, and Johnson.
  • There are exemptions to the above rule, which include Omani citizens and their families coming in from abroad who have not received one of two doses of the vaccine, non-Omanis residents working in either private or public sector units, who have only received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or are unvaccinated. The aforementioned groups will be allowed to return, but they will have to take the PCR test before arrival, take another test upon entry, wear an electronic tracking bracelet, quarantine at home if they are Omani and in an institution if they are non-Omanis for at least 7 days, and get tested again on day 8.
  • Anyone coming into Oman by air must get tested before or upon arrival, while those coming in via land border must get tested before arriving at the border.
  • Public sector establishments will operate at 100% capacity.
  • Those who have received at least one dose will be allowed in the workplace until October 1st. After October 1st, anyone who is not fully vaccinated will not be allowed in. This decision is for both public and private sector employees, and only employees with health conditions that prevent them from getting vaccinated will be exempt from this rule, but they will have to prove that they are unable to take the shot.
  • Visitors and customers of public or private units must have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in order to be allowed in. This applies from September 1st until October 15th. After that, anyone who is not fully vaccinated after that will not be allowed in.
  • Expired residency cards for expats will not be renewed for those who have not taken at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This will apply until October 1st. After that, those who wish to renew their cards will only be allowed to do so if they are fully vaccinated.