Buying and Drinking Alcohol in Oman

If you have a residence visa and are a non-Muslim, you can apply for a liquor license and you are allowed to keep alcohol in your home. The amount of alcohol you are allowed to purchase from a retailer is directly related to your salary and you can spend only 10% of your monthly income on alcohol at the bottle store. In order to get the liquor license in Muscat, you have to follow the following procedure.

Go to the Ruwi Police Station with the following documents:

Copy of passport & labour card
Two passport-sized photos
No Objection Certificate (NOC) from your employer
Labor card application in original - copy returned after issuing labor card. This is to confirm basic salary as registered with the Ministry of Manpower
Employment contract attested by the Ministry of Manpower to confirm employment and eligibility to apply for a permit
Completed permit application (Which you can get there)
If you are renewing your permit, bring your old permit with you

The application process is easy and your permit will be ready sooner than you think. The license is typically valid for a period of two years. When you want to renew it, just take the same documents along with your expired liquor license and get a new one.

African and Eastern
Some liqour shops like African and Eastern will handle the liquor license application for the customer as well.

Application forms can be picked up at any of of the African + Eastern stores, conveniently located in Muscat, Sohar and Salalah.

Please carry the following documents with you when applying for your license:

Two passport-sized photos
A copy of your passport
A copy of your labour card
A No Objection Certificate (NOC) from your company(in English & Arabic)
Your original labour card application form and a copy (original will be returned)
Your completed application form and the necessary documents must be submitted in person to ROP Liquor Licensing Office, Ruwi police station

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