Introduction
Setting up a workshop abroad can feel like juggling new rules, new paperwork, and new price tags all at once. Luckily, the workshop foreign investment Oman path in 2025 is far shorter and friendlier than most people expect. Thanks to Royal Decree 38/2025 you can now buy a freehold unit in parks such as Sandan Industrial City, register your company online through the Industrial Gateway portal, and collect an industrial licence in about a week for low-risk activities. Add zero percent corporate tax on non-oil profits and utility costs that undercut UAE rates, and Muscat suddenly looks like the Gulf’s best kept manufacturing secret.
Key Takeaways:
- A 15-step checklist that takes you from reserving a unit to your first shipment
- Up-to-date 2025 costs (licence bands, deed fees, utility deposits) in Omani rials and UAE dirhams
- A quick decision tree that shows whether you need a mainland LLC, a free-zone entity, or Sandan’s deed-plus-licence hybrid
- UAE-specific tips for e-notary documents and swift cross-border bank transfers
- A calendar guide that highlights where Sandan’s on-site counters shave a full week off the usual timeline
- Why 2025 is the smoothest runway Oman has ever offered
Last year the Ministry of Commerce and OPAZ ditched their separate portals and fused everything into a single Industrial Gateway. No more dual log-ins, no more re-uploading the same passport scan. Low-risk workshops pay a flat 250 OMR licence fee, medium-risk pay 750 OMR, and high-risk pay 3 000 OMR—end of story. Better still, if you choose Sandan Industrial City you can handle deed registration, licence payment, power deposits and even bank onboarding without leaving the park. For founders used to bouncing between Dubai’s TECOM, DED and Civil Defence offices, the time saving is a breath of fresh desert air.
- Picking the right legal lane in under one minute
Ask yourself two questions:
- Will my finished goods stay in Oman or head straight back over the border?
- Do I want a deed I can mortgage later?
If most sales are exports, a 100 percent free-zone LLC in Duqm or Sohar might suit. If you need local sales and love the idea of real collateral, Sandan’s freehold+mainland-licence combo hits the sweet spot. And if you prefer the classic route, a mainland LLC—now allowed to be 100 percent foreign in most activities—still works fine. Decide upfront, because your choice sets the paperwork that follows.
- Your 15-step workshop launch checklist (save this to your notes)
- Run a quick market check and jot down the HS codes for every part you’ll import or export. Those codes stay with you through customs, VAT filings, and even bank LC paperwork.
- Lock the space. Sandan lets you reserve a 55–500 m² workshop with a five-percent, fully refundable booking fee that holds the unit for 30 days.
- Choose your legal wrapper and reserve a company name. Mainland LLC, free-zone LLC, or the Sandan hybrid—pick one, pay 3 OMR for the name search, done.
- Get your UAE documents e-notarised. Dubai Courts’ online notary issues a QR-coded PDF; Oman’s ministries accept it, so no courier drama.
- Open an Omani bank account and drop in the minimum capital (often just 150 OMR for small LLCs). Bank Muscat and Ahli Islamic both have reps who visit Sandan twice a week.
- Hop onto the Industrial Gateway and file your licence application. The system auto-assigns the 250 / 750 / 3 000 OMR fee based on your activity code and risk tier.
- Clear the HSE checkbox. Low-risk shops simply upload photos of exits and extinguishers; medium/high add a short form that Sandan’s tech desk will pre-fill if you ask.
Once those seven boxes are ticked, you’re halfway to keys-in-hand. Most founders bash through them over a long weekend—especially if the zone staff handle the licence upload on their login.
- What to prep and what it really costs (no hidden surprises)
Must-have PDFs (under 5 MB each)
- Passport copy of the authorised signatory
- Company profile or board resolution if you’re spinning off a Gulf sister company
- Draft floor plan with exits marked in red
- Bank “customer in good standing” letter
- Public-liability insurance quote (even a screenshot works for the upload)
First-year cash outlay for a low-risk 55 m² Sandan unit, in round numbers:
Item | OMR | AED (≈) |
5 % booking fee | 1 750 | 16 700 |
Licence band + admin | 260 | 2 480 |
Deed registration (3 %) | 1 050 | 10 000 |
Utility deposits | 450 | 4 300 |
Basic fit-out | 5 000 | 47 700 |
Total before machinery | 8 510 | 81 180 |
For context, that’s roughly what a six-month rent deposit costs on a similar-size warehouse in Dubai South—except here you finish with a freehold deed you can leverage for up-to-70-percent bank finance. Keep these numbers handy; they make the workshop foreign investment Oman pitch far more concrete when you brief your partners or board.
- How the calendar really plays out (Sandan vs. anywhere else)
Milestone | Sandan freehold timeline | Typical Muscat estate | What chops the delay |
Reservation to SPA signing | Same day (e-signature) | 2–3 days of office visits | Online contract flow |
Licence submission to approval | 3–4 working days | 7–10 working days | Zone staff push file to fast-track queue |
Deed registration | Walk-in, 30 minutes | Half-day trip downtown | On-site Ministry of Justice desk |
Utility meter installation | 48 hours | 5–7 days | Spare transformers already in park |
First import clearance | Within 24 h of arrival | 2–3 days | Sohar port fast lane, 45-min haul |
Net result: a low-risk workshop foreign investment Oman project hits “machines on” in roughly 14 days at Sandan versus 25–30 days elsewhere. For founders burning cash on idle equipment, that two-week head start equals real money.
- Stay penalty-proof: common risks and easy fixes
Late Omanisation compliance
: SMEs under 10 staff can request a one-year waiver during the licence upload; miss that tick box and you’ll pay 200 OMR per missing local worker.
HSE snags at inspection
: The number-one fail is blocked exits. Walk the unit with Sandan’s safety officer before the inspector shows up and tape off any temporary obstructions.
VAT filing lapses
: Industrial licences don’t auto-enrol you for VAT. File the online form the same week your licence lands; the Tax Authority usually activates your TRN in 48 hours.
Utility overdraw
: Install a smart meter alert on your phone. Exceeding your contracted kVA triggers a steep surcharge that can wipe out a month’s profit.
Insurance gaps
: Civil-liability cover is mandatory. Sandan’s in-park broker can bind a policy in one hour—cheaper than the fines for operating uninsured.
Handle these micro-tasks on schedule and your Oman workshop runs smooth, leaving you to focus on production rather than paperwork.
- Five rapid-fire FAQs foreign investors always ask
Can I sub-lease part of my workshop?
: Yes. Just upload the sub-tenant’s trade licence to the Industrial Gateway and pay a 10-OMR admin fee.
How many visas can I get per 100 m²?
: Roughly 15 visas for light-manufacturing space. You can pool quotas if you own multiple units.
Will banks really lend on my deed?
: Most local banks offer 60–70 % LTV with five- to ten-year tenors once your licence is active.
Do I need a local partner for a mainland LLC?
: Not for most manufacturing and trading codes. Check the Negative List; if you’re clear, 100 % foreign ownership is fine.
What happens if I sell the unit later?
: The buyer pays the same 3 % deed-transfer fee; Oman levies no capital-gains tax on industrial property.
- Turn the checklist into keys-in-hand
- Grab the PDF checklist linked below and share it with your co-founders or board.
- WhatsApp Sandan’s licensing desk (+968 2000 1111) for a 15-minute call—pick a unit, confirm your activity code and get a slot for a site tour.
- Pay the 5 % booking fee to freeze the unit price for 30 days.
- E-notarise your UAE documents while Sandan drafts the sale–purchase agreement.
- Fly in (or join a virtual walk-through), e-sign the SPA, and let the zone staff upload your licence pack. Most founders walk out with a deed number and a licensing-status dashboard they can watch from home.
Follow those five moves in order and you’ll replace the question mark around workshop foreign investment Oman with a firm launch date—and a freehold title you can show the bank.
- Final thoughts—why a Muscat workshop makes sense right now
Oman has trimmed red tape, flattened licence fees, and opened the door to foreign-owned freehold property—all while keeping taxes at zero. When you add Sandan’s one-building bureaucracy and installment-plan pricing, the decision boils down to speed and control: if you want machines running in weeks, not months, and you like the idea of a deed you can mortgage later, Sandan is hard to beat. Download the checklist, schedule a tour, and turn today’s research into tomorrow’s production line—before rising demand snaps up the last of the ready units.