Oman transit visa: stopovers in Muscat and land transit

If you stay airside in Muscat you do not enter Oman. You need a transit visa only to leave the airport during a connection, and only if your nationality cannot already enter Oman visa-free. Citizens of the more than 100 countries on the Foreign Ministry's visa-free list can usually use the 14-day visa-free entry instead.

The Airport Transit Visa is granted at airports at the request of the carrier airline. Your itinerary must be a true transit, involving Oman and two other countries, and you must enter and leave Oman by air.

ROP lists two Airport Transit Visa subtypes, one for 24 hours and one for 72 hours, both at OMR 5. The visa allows a single entry and cannot be extended. You must have enough money for your expenses and a confirmed onward ticket, and your passport must be valid for six months.

Overstaying a transit visa is fined like any visit visa, at OMR 10 per day.

The Short Transit Visa is issued by Omani missions abroad in coordination with ROP, and at land border posts designated by ROP. It is valid for up to six months and lets the holder cross Oman to a neighbouring country within five days of entry. It is available to nationals of that neighbouring country or to people who hold a valid entry visa for it.

Ship crews joining or leaving a vessel through an Omani airport use the Sailor's Transit Visa, filed by the ship's agent, which allows up to seven days.

Ask your airline before you fly whether it requests transit visas in Muscat and what it needs from you, because the airline is the sponsor. Without a confirmed onward flight to a third country the visa will not be granted.

If your nationality is visa-exempt for 14 days, the visa-free route is usually simpler; it still requires a return or onward ticket, a hotel booking, health insurance and sufficient funds.