The Royal Oman Police (ROP) has clarified that stamping of renewed visa on passports is not necessary. A renewed resident card would serve the purpose.
The ROP's clarification comes in the wake of a flurry of doubts being raised by residents in the Sultanate of Oman regarding online renewal instead of the traditional visa stamping on passports.
The ROP sources have further said that the new practice, which has been in force for a few weeks, is meant for an easy visa-stamping process and to make it more effective.
"The decision has been made to stop renewal visa stamping on passports of the residents. It is sufficient to renew the same in the system and the resident card," a top ROP official has confirmed.
"It does not matter to the individual if the stamp is found on the passport or not, but he or she will be able to travel and submit the resident card as a proof of residence," he added.
However, some people have expressed concern if the same will apply to ports of entry in other countries as the immigration authorities check stamped visas on passports.
"This move (of not stamping the visa on the passport) is a great step towards ease of travel, but I wonder if resident card would suffice as a proof of my residence in the Sultanate of Oman," said businessman Naushad Sulaiman.
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