Foreign ownership in Oman: ITCs, 99-year usufruct and the limits that still apply

Foreign nationals cannot buy property freely anywhere in Oman. Ownership is channelled through specific government-approved Integrated Tourism Complexes (ITCs) and certain usufruct arrangements.

Inside approved ITCs, foreigners can acquire 100% freehold. The legal basis is Royal Decree 12/2006, which promulgates the Real Estate Ownership Act for Integrated Tourism Complexes and sets the conditions under which non-Omanis can own. Within eligible ITC zones, foreign and local owners share the same rights — registering in their own name, selling on, and renting out without special restriction.

Outside ITCs, foreigners can hold long-term usufruct rights of up to 99 years in eligible buildings, subject to residency and value conditions.

For approved non-ITC usufruct apartments, the commonly reported rule is that non-Omani ownership should not exceed 40% of the units in a building, with any single nationality limited to 20% of that foreign allocation. In Musandam, non-Omanis are limited to acquiring already-built units under usufruct not exceeding 99 years.

ITC status is not automatic. The Ministerial Committee for Tourism may, where the public interest requires, notify the Governmental Licensing Committee not to grant ITC status to a specific site where it considers ownership should remain restricted to Omanis.

That discretion is precisely why an appraisal that assumes ITC status before it is granted is an appraisal built on an assumption, not a fact.

These caps are a design brief, not just a legal note. A 40% foreign-ownership ceiling with a 20% per-nationality sub-cap directly shapes the unit mix — how many units you build at which sizes, and who each tranche is realistically aimed at.

Determine the ownership route before the design freezes. Discovering the constraint after the unit mix is fixed means either redesigning or accepting a slower absorption rate, and both are expensive.