Oman - February 2025

On 2 February, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq ratified a new citizenship law that amends naturalization requirements and expands the government’s power to revoke citizenship. In order to qualify for citizenship, individual applicants must now have resided in Oman for 15 consecutive years, down from 20 years, while the relevant period for the foreign wives of Omani men is now eight years, up from five. The law also makes it more difficult for Omani mothers to pass on citizenship to their children, restricting it to widows or divorcees. Further, broadly drafted provisions allow the government to revoke citizenship for a variety of offences, including ‘verbally or physically offend[ing] the Sultanate of Oman’ and membership of an organisation whose principles or beliefs harm the interests of the Sultanate. Rights groups warned that these provisions could be used by the state to stifle dissent, particularly since the law lacks mechanisms for appeals.

Sources: Qanoon, Gulf Centre for Human Rights, The New Arab, Oman Observer