New Delhi: In 2017, Oman relaxed its visa rules to attract more tourists by granting Visa on arrival (unsponsored tourist visa) for the Citizens of India, China and Russia who reside in or who hold an entry visa to one of these countries - United States of America, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom and Schengen States to enter the Sultanate of Oman.

To further facilitate the process, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) has announced that effective 21 March 2018, visas will only be granted electronically via the URL: https://evisa.rop.gov.om and there will be no more hand-processed visas at the airport effective that date.

"The migration to electronic visas is due to its simplicity and effectiveness, its alignment with modern technology and is in line with the e-government project of the Sultanate. Further, it will save tourists and visitors time so they don't have to wait in long queues at the airport. The system has been thoroughly tested and more than 12,000 users have already benefited from it. The system is considered to be one of the safest and most confidential in the world, having achieved an ISO certification," said Royal Oman Police, Sultanate of Oman.

The e-visa application explains clearly the process of obtaining visas either individually or collectively such as obtaining a visa through a tourism company, in a simplified way.

Additionally, the application clarifies the visa formalities for various groups of countries. In addition, specialists at ROP are available 24 hours a day to provide support. There is an official account of eVisa system on twitter @OmanEvisa where once can seek assistance.

The new e-visa system, coinciding with the opening of the new Muscat International Airport, supports the Oman Tourism Strategy in attracting more tourists and tourism investment into the country, whereby the number of tourists to Oman in 2040 will reach over 11 million by 2040.