Hiring a Housemaid Who Is Already in Oman: Changing Employer Legally

Every worker listed on OmanHousemaids already lives and works in Oman. Hiring someone who is already here is usually quicker than bringing a worker from abroad, and you can meet in person first. But the worker's services must move to you through the official process before they start working for you.

This guide explains that process and what it costs. It also covers the long-running question about no-objection letters, and the money traps to avoid. It's checked against the Ministry of Labour (MoL) and Royal Oman Police (ROP) service pages, and against Ministerial Decision (MD) 574/2025, the domestic-worker regulation in force since 13 October 2025.

The short version

• The new employer starts the request in MoL e-service 286, online or at a Sanad service centre.
• The request goes to the current employer, who approves or rejects it. To approve, they also settle any outstanding fees and fines.
• The new employer pays the MoL transfer fee of OMR 5, and ROP confirms.
• The worker can't start with the new employer until the transfer is approved.
• When a transfer is agreed, the current employer must pay the worker's final dues within five days of their last working day.
• Nobody may charge the worker for a transfer. Nobody should be paid for "handing over" a person, either.

Checks before you agree anything

Age and papers. The worker must be 21 or over (MD 574/2025 Art. 6) and hold a valid resident card.

Where the contract stands. Ask when the worker's contract with the current employer ends:

• If both sides simply carry on after the end date, the contract continues on the same terms (Art. 21).
• Either side that doesn't want to renew must give at least two months' notice before the contract ends (Art. 21).
• A worker may also end a contract early, keeping all their rights, in the cases Art. 36 lists (see below).

No absconding report. MoL publishes absconding reports on its website. A worker with an approved report can't work or transfer while it stands (see absconding reports).

Your own licence. Two official pages point to the new employer needing a household permit of their own:

• gov.om's general description of MoL's worker-transfer service (for individuals, employers and government bodies) says the new employer must have a vacant licence to take the worker on.
• MoL's service 286 asks the new employer which work permit will be used for the worker.

The same job. A worker may only be employed in the occupation on their licence (Art. 9(3)). If the role will be different, for example housemaid to nanny, ask MoL how the licence is changed. MD 602/2025 sets an OMR 5 fee for changing the occupation on a work licence (Annex 3), but doesn't say how this fits a household transfer.

The official route: MoL service 286 and ROP

MoL's household transfer service is e-service 286, "Transfer of services of non-Omani manpower (individuals)". It is self-service and needs no documents. The steps on MoL's page are:

1. The new employer logs in with a civil ID card or mobile PKI, and starts a transfer request from their work-permit list.
2. The new employer enters the worker's civil number, date of birth and the work permit to be used.
3. The request goes to the current employer, who logs in and approves or rejects it.
4. To approve, the current employer pays any fees and fines outstanding on their side.
5. The new employer logs back in and pays the transfer fee.
6. ROP confirms the transfer automatically, and the worker's services move to the new employer.

You can also submit through a Sanad service centre. The Sanad centre submits the request, but MoL makes the decision.

The ROP side. ROP's rules let a foreign worker's residence move to a new employer who holds a licence to recruit workers (ROP Decision 157/2020). Two things are needed:

• proof that the employment contract has expired, been rescinded or been terminated;
• approval by the relevant government body of the new employer's contract with the worker.

Until the move is complete, the first employer stays responsible for the worker's residence.

MoL's page says ROP's confirmation is automatic. Separately, gov.om lists an ROP "Change the Employer (Sponsor)" service, which requires the MoL transfer to be finished first.

What the transfer costs

The current employer pays any fees and fines outstanding on their side before approving. If they leave a worker's status unresolved after the licence expires, MD 602/2025 fines an individual employer OMR 15 a month, capped at OMR 500 per worker (Art. 11).

For the current employer. If a worker is transferred within 90 days of arriving with you, you can recover the permit fee or get a new licence for OMR 1. This works once only (MD 602/2025 Art. 13(5)).

Recruitment offices. A licensed recruitment office may offer to arrange a transfer for a fee. MoL's standard office contract for this service puts that fee on the household. The worker must never be charged (Labour Law Art. 31).

Is a no-objection still needed?

This is the question families ask most. The honest answer is that the official sources don't line up neatly.

• What changed in 2021. ROP Decision 157/2020 took effect on 1 January 2021. It lets residence move to a new employer on proof that the contract has ended or been terminated. Its text doesn't mention a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the current employer. A 2021 law-firm update also reported an internal MoL decision listing cases where an NOC should no longer be requested. They include an expired contract, and a termination for a non-disciplinary reason.
• What MoL's household service shows today. Service 286 still sends the request to the current employer "to approve or reject". gov.om's general description of MoL's worker-transfer service lists an approval step by the previous sponsor. It also lists a court ruling of no objection to the sponsorship transfer among the documents.
• Domestic workers specifically. An ILO factsheet (December 2023) said it was "not clear" whether the 2021 change applies to domestic workers.

So if the current employer approves in service 286, the route is straightforward. If they don't, ask MoL (call centre 80077000) what applies before anyone changes jobs.

If the current employer doesn't approve

There's no shortcut here. Anything that skips the official process puts both the family and the worker at risk.

• Don't employ the worker in the meantime. An employer may not employ a worker who isn't licensed to work for them (MD 574/2025 Art. 9(2)). Breaches carry fines of OMR 50–500 per violation, per worker (Art. 39). Anyone found employing someone else's domestic worker must also pay the original employer's recruitment-office costs and the cost of the worker's deportation ticket (MD 270/2018 Art. 17(a)).
• Wait for the contract to end. A fixed-term contract ends at expiry unless both sides carry on (Art. 30). The side that doesn't want to renew gives two months' notice (Art. 21). Then ask MoL how the transfer proceeds.
• If the worker's rights have been breached, the worker can take it to MoL. Disputes under the regulation go to MoL for settlement before court, and workers pay no court fees (Art. 37). A worker may end the contract early and keep all their rights, including gratuity, after notifying the employer, in the cases listed in Art. 36. These include:
  • not being paid in full for more than two consecutive months;
  • fraud about the job terms;
  • indecent conduct or assault by the employer or their family;
  • a serious known danger the employer hasn't removed.
• Ask MoL. The call centre is 80077000.

Never pay money for a person

Oman's online classifieds carry ads, often in Arabic under the word «تنازل», that offer a worker's sponsorship with a sum of money attached. OmanHousemaids doesn't allow these ads, and families should stay well clear of them. Here's why:

• The only official fees are the government's, set out above. Nothing in the official process involves paying the current employer for the worker.
• No one may take money from the worker for recruiting, employing or transferring them (MD 574/2025 Art. 7; Labour Law Art. 31).
• Advertising rules. An employer may not advertise or promote a worker on the basis of creed or colour, or in a way that degrades human dignity, in order to transfer the worker to another employer (MD 574/2025 Art. 10). The Labour Law separately bans advertising or classifying workers by creed, colour or cost (Art. 32).
• Oman's Anti-Trafficking Law lists selling a person, or offering a person to be sold or bought, among trafficking acts when done intentionally and for exploitation (Royal Decree 78/2025, Art. 6(3)). The penalty is 3 to 10 years in prison and a fine of OMR 5,000 to 100,000 (Art. 17).

If anyone asks you for money before they'll approve a transfer, don't pay it. Ask MoL about the official route instead.

Absconding reports

An absconding report (بلاغ ترك العمل) is filed by an employer when a worker leaves without a lawful reason. MoL's service 254 accepts a report once the worker has been absent for more than seven consecutive days and can't be reached. The detailed rules come from MD 270/2018, which MoL's current services still follow.

• Effects. Once a report is approved, the worker is barred from any work or transfer to another employer, and from entering Oman. They also lose the end-of-service gratuity for the period before leaving (MD 270/2018 Art. 15).
• The worker can object within 60 days of approval (Art. 11), free, through MoL service 233. If MoL finds the report untrue, it cancels it. MoL may then transfer the worker to another employer who asks, with the worker's consent, without going back to the original employer. If MoL finds the report was correct and the objection unjustified, the worker can be fined OMR 400–800 (Art. 19).
• The employer can withdraw a report within six months, for a fee of OMR 100 (Arts 12–13; MoL service 54).
• Reports are public. MoL lists them online.

For families, the rule is simple. Don't take on a worker with an active report, and don't employ anyone until MoL has approved their transfer to you.

If you're the worker

• You never pay for a transfer, for a new job, or for a profile on OmanHousemaids (MD 574/2025 Art. 7).
• Your final dues from your current employer are due within five days of your last working day when a transfer is agreed (Art. 32). You can ask for a clearance letter, a براءة ذمة (Art. 34).
• Don't start work for a new family until MoL has approved the transfer. Working for someone other than your licensed employer can lead to your permit being cancelled, deportation and an entry ban.
• Your gratuity from your current employer is half a month's wage per year. It counts only service from 13 October 2025, and none is due for service under two years (Art. 31).
• If you have an absconding report you believe is wrong, you have 60 days to object, free, through MoL service 233.
• Your embassy may have its own steps when you change employer, so check with them.
• Questions or a complaint: call the MoL call centre on 80077000. Our guide to your rights has more.

After the transfer

• Register the new contract through MoL service 305 (OMR 1). It must be in writing, in Arabic or with an Arabic copy, and registered by you as the employer (Art. 19).
• Probation can last up to 15 days, once per employer. Either side can end the contract during probation with seven days' notice (Art. 20).
• Your obligations start. These include food and suitable accommodation, health insurance, a paid weekly rest day, leave, and wages paid within seven days of the due date. See our guide to MD 574/2025.
• Resident card. Check with ROP whether anything changes on the worker's card.

Looking for someone already in Oman? Browse housemaid profiles or post a job, and contact workers directly. You choose who to contact, and workers never pay to use the site.