As the Middle East vaccinates more of its population, various countries are reopening to international tourists. Oman will officially reopen to vaccinated international tourists in September.Â
From September 1st, Oman will reopen its land, air borders, and sea borders. Dr. Saif Al Abri, the Director of General Disease Control at the Ministry of Health announced the country would finally reopen its borders at a Supreme Committee press conference.
However, he also stated that the committee is discussing the reopening of economic, social, and cultural activities. They will have made their decision in the coming days.
The New Oman Entry RequirementsÂ
Oman will lift its ban on travelers from all countries from September 1st providing they have proof of vaccination.
The following travelers will be allowed to enter the sultanate:
- Travelers that donât require a visa can enter Oman from September 1st if they have proof of vaccination
- Travelers that are eligible for visa on arrival can enter Oman from September 1st if they have proof of vaccination
- Citizens and resident visa holders of Oman can also enter
Anyone over the age of 18 will require proof of vaccination with a vaccine that Oman recognizes. These include:
- AstraZeneca
- Sinovac
- Covishield
- Pfizer-BioNTech
- Sputnik V
- Johnson & Johnson
- Sinopharm
Passengers must also present a medical certificate with a QR code that proves their vaccination status. Travelers must have received their final vaccination at least 14 days before traveling to Oman.
Furthermore, there will be no quarantine for travelers that secure their pre-travel negative COVID-19 PCR test. However, travelers on long-haul flights (over 8 hours) will need their pre-travel negative COVID-19 PCR test at least 96 hours before flying to Oman.
Travelers on short-haul flights (under 8 hours) must have their pre-travel negative departure test at least 72 hours before flying to Oman.
Upon arrival in Oman, travelers that havenât taken a pre-travel COVID-19 test will need to take a PCR test on arrival and wear a tarassud+ bracelet and quarantine until their result comes back. If itâs negative, they will need to quarantine for 10 days.
The COVID-19 Situation In OmanÂ
Oman has been relatively closed for the previous 18 months, but theyâve had various waves of COVID-19. The current 7-day daily average case number is 119, which is down by almost 200 percent since July.
Since the pandemic began, the country has been in-and-out of various lockdowns and has recorded a total of 302,000 cases with just over 4000 deaths. Oman has fully vaccinated around 21 percent of its entire population and has given 3.38 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far.
The Other Middle Eastern Nations That Are Dropping Entry RestrictionsÂ
Oman isnât the only Middle Eastern that is dropping travel restrictions. The United Arab Emirates has restarted its tourist visas to fully vaccinated travelers from various countries from August 30th in a bid to boost their battered economy. Travelers will need to show evidence of full vaccination from a WHO-approved vaccine.
Saudi Arabia is also lifting various entry restrictions. Last week, the Saudi Arabian authorities dropped entry restrictions on travelers from 20 countries. Unfortunately, the new rules only apply to people that were fully vaccinated in Saudi Arabia.
Kuwait is also going to restart travel to various neighboring countries. These include India, Pakistan, and Egypt with the introduction of direct flights.
Various countries in the Middle East â including the U.A.E â have economies that are reliant on tourists entering. Sadly, the Delta variant has ruined many plans for the Middle East to fully reopen this summer.
That said, as countries outside the EU and the USA begin to vaccinate more of their population â this type of news will become more commonplace.
