Omani woman violated labour law with ’free visa’ scam

An Omani woman has been reported to Public Prosecution after she registered then closed dozens of companies just to obtain visa clearances for expat workers.

Out of 37 registered then deleted companies, the citizen brought in 231 expat workers and did not more a single Omani, according to a Manpower Ministry statement.

The woman worked around the law in order to bring expat workers into Oman even though there was no work for them to do, which left the workers vulnerable to exploitation as well as human trafficking.

A statement by the Ministry of Manpower read, “The ministry, represented by the Directorate General for Worker Care, has designated to Public Prosecution, the case of a woman who was trading in 37 company registers, hiring 231 workers but without a single Omani.”

The woman’s method involved starting and then dissolving companies as commercial registers, which allowed her to bring in expat workers into the country even though there was no company to receive them.

“The woman had used the law, in which she registered commercial establishments, but then deleted the register’s municipal permits and rent contracts as soon as she gained a permit to bring expatriate workers into the country,” the statement added.


According to the ministry, these workers were left without work, which forced them to find illegal labour in Oman, breaking the law themselves even though they were victims.
 

“Inspections showed that the citizen had then released the expat workforce to work for others, which counts as a misdemeanor of illegal labour, and leaving them without any actual employment. This made the workers more vulnerable to human trafficking crimes and exploitation, and proves that she had violated Labour Law and Ministerial Decisions," the statement said.

“The ministry has stopped all interactions with the commercial registers under the woman’s name, and has moved the woman’s case to Public Prosecution for legal procedure,” the Ministry added.