MUSCAT, 14 April 2005 — Omanis can now marry citizens of other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries without obtaining special permission, it was officially announced here yesterday.
Interior Minister Saud ibn Ibrahim Al-Busaidi, however, said that the decision does not apply to Omanis wanting to marry non-GCC citizens even if they are residents of a GCC country.
He said a 1993 ministerial decision, which governs marriages with foreigners, remains effective for all Omani citizens wishing to marry non-GCC nationals.
In 1980, Oman adopted a law banning the marriage of Omani citizens to foreigners in a bid to encourage marriages among Omanis.
According to the census conducted last year after a 10-year gap, Oman’s population is 2.3 million of which about a quarter are foreigners.
The minister urged Omanis inside and outside the country to comply with the provisions of the law. The move is part of a campaign to bring peoples of the six Gulf states still closer as enshrined in the GCC charter.
