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Executive Regulations for Non-Omani Ownership
The System of Non-Omani Ownership
of Real Estate in Integrated Tourism Complexes
Non-Omani natural or juridical
personalities are allowed to own lands or constructed units by way of legally
recognized proprietary rights to land, for residential or investment purposes in
integrated tourism complexes licensed by competent government agencies.
Without prejudice to the right of
the State to restrict ownership in any integrated tourism complex to Omani
nationals, the Executive Regulations shall set forth the procedures, rules,
conditions and criteria for Omani and Non-Omani ownership in integrated tourism
complexes.
Article 2:
Subject to the approval of the
Ministry of Tourism, a usufructuary, corporate or individual who have
acquired properties in integrated tourism complexes and have provided them with
public services and utilities, may dispose of built units or land subdivisions
prepared for building subject to the payment of an upgrade levy to the Ministry
of Housing, Electricity and Water. The amount of the upgrade levy shall be
proportional to the total value of the land held in usufruct. The Executive
Regulations shall determine the value of the upgrade levy contingent upon the
approval of the Ministry of Finance.
Article 3:
The owner may sell built units at
any time. However, any one who bought a piece of land in an integrated tourism
complex should develop it to a finished appearance or turn it to good use within
four years from the date of putting in land register the owner’s name. No
disposition of land shall be made within these four years except by mortgage to
finance its development.
If the land is not developed or
utilized in the compass of the mentioned period, the Ministry of Housing,
Electricity and Water may dispose of it by public auction and reimburse the
owner the purchase or the auction price, whichever is lower, but without
prejudice to the owner’s right to protest and contest at the competent court of
law.
Article 4:
The Ministry of Housing,
Electricity and Water may extend the period mentioned in the preceding article
by not more than two years if the delay is deemed justifiable on the basis of
the recommendation of the Ministry of Tourism, and if the purchaser submitted to
Ministry of Tourism an application for extension outlining the grounds for the
required extension. The Executive Regulations shall lay down the procedures and
the details of such an application and the period of its initiation and
submission.
Article 5:
The sale by public auction shall be
performed by a government committee to be formed and its terms of reference and
modus operandi determined by a decision from the Minister of Housing,
Electricity and Water in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism. This
Committee shall include technical, financial and legal resources as well as a
representative of the Ministry of Tourism.
Article 6:
This system does not prejudice the
right of the state to expropriate property for the public interest against the
payment of a fair compensation pursuant to laws and rules prevailing in the
Sultanate of Oman.
Article 7:
Rights of inheritance, wills and
all after-death dispositions of properties subject to this system shall be in
accordance to the laws of the country to which the owner belongs. If one year
after the death of the owner and the notification of the embassy of such
country, no heir has submitted a claim to the estate of the deceased owner, then
the Ministry of Tourism shall determine who would manage the property, which
shall be devolved to the government of Oman after the elapse of fifteen years,
save the right of any legitimate heir to compensation.
The Executive Regulations shall
demonstrate the procedures for the submission of applications and claims to
inheritance together with supportive documents. The Executive Regulations shall
also decide the government unit that should handle the notification, the amount
of the property management fees and shall establish the procedures for the
execution of all post-death transactions.
Article 8:
A Non-Omani owner of a property for
accommodation or investment and first-degree relatives may be granted residence
permit. The Executive Regulations shall, after coordination with the parties
concerned, establish the procedures and stipulations for granting such residence
permits.
Article 9:
The Minister of Tourism shall form
a government committee to be entrusted with the task of licensing integrated
tourism complexes in accordance with established rules and criteria. The
ministerial decision forming the committee shall also determine its mandate and
modus operandi.
All dispositions and transactions
carried out in respect of tourism complexes prior to the enforcement of this
system shall be valid and legally binding.
Source: Ministry of Tourism 2010
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