NOC FINALLY GONE!!!
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Ministry of Labour has recently issued a decision on 29 July 2021) to its personnel setting out the circumstances in which NOCs should no longer be requested as a pre-condition when dealing with the transfer of expatriate employees. The decision sets out some situations as mentioned below where expatriates should be able to transfer employment without an NOC:
1. upon expiry of the expatriate's work permit/visa provided that the expatriate does not have a current employment contract registered with the Ministry of Labour;
2. upon the expiry of the expatriate's employment contract;
3. upon the expatriate providing evidence that his/her employment contract has been terminated by the employer for a reason other than a disciplinary reason;
4. the issuance of a court ruling ordering the transfer of the expatriate employee to the new employer;
5. the issuance of a court ruling adjudging that the expatriate employee was arbitrarily dismissed; or the issuance of a court ruling adjudging the bankruptcy or dissolution of the employer.
Thus, as long as an expat falls in one of those categories, he can change the employer and switch to another job without even exiting the country.
Hope it helps!!!
Can you please share the official link of the circular which you have referred here in your post?
I had 2-years fixed-term contract (NOT an open-ended renewable contract) from 2014 to 2016. After that, my employer kept renewing my visa without any contract renewal. My current visa will be expiring in 2022. Can I change the company at this stage without NOC as per point no.2 of the original post?
Hi Piyank Parikh,
I am not sure if there is any link on the Ministry site. However, a simple Google search will confirm the decision.
Regarding your employment contract, please note your visa has been renewed on expiry of every 2 years as it currently stands and accordingly, your passport is also stamped on every renewal. It means that your contract at the ministry is being renewed by your employer accordingly.
Thus, unlike before when change of sponsor was not at all possible without NOC, you can now change the sponsor once your employment term ends among other options as described in my first comment. As a good practice, you must serve the notice for resignation so that your employer is on notice not to renew the agreement.
The decision will become more clear and will provide more clarity once it is put in practice.
Hope it helps.
Generally the employment contracts are open-ended auto renewable contracts which gets automatically renewed when the visa is renewed by the employer. But in my case, the contract was fixed-term contract and it was not auto renewable. I checked with my HR also and they confirmed that they don't submit any contract to MoM at the time of visa renewal.
My simple question is that do I fall into category 2 as mentioned in the original post?
There is nothing called auto renewable in labour law. It is either limited or unlimited contract, the former ends on expiry of the term specified unless renewed and the later one either on termination by employer or resignation by employee. And NOC matter kicks in when an employee wants to join another company in Oman.
As I said in my previous post, your contract was being renewed at the ministry every time by your employer on expiry of 2 year term.
Now regarding your situation whether you can change the job under option 2 as you referred to, yes, you can once your current contract expires i.e. the expiry date of your resident card SUBJECT to what you said above is correct about employment contract. But to deter your employer from renewing your contract, I advised you to serve resignation notice as a good practice before expiry of contract.
Dear sir, I was employed in Oman and due to disagreements and unsafe work conditions I resigned, though employer "denied". So I quit and left the country, I have no written contract or contract with manpower. My question is my current visa will expire in January 2022, and I have other job offers, so will I be able to get Visa issued without NOC? Please help clarify, thanks.
Hello Sir
My contract is expiring on 31st Dec, also it's my Resident Card expire on same date. I have an offer from another employer, do I still require NOC or I can change to another employer without exiting country.
I have my resignation letter along with acceptance of resignation from my current management as email proof.
Kindly advise
Regards
Syed
@anilmele
I have a query regarding NOC.
Hi
I would like to have your opinion regarding below case(Oman)
My contract and Visa with company expiring in July 2023. As per my contract I cannot join any competitor company for 4 months after I leave current company.
1. How can I know who are the competitor of my current company?
2. Can I obtain employment Visa or it will be blocked for 4 months in ministry since it is mentioned in contract?
Kindly request your advice on above two questions.
Thanks
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