When a parent starts to need help at home, many families in Oman consider employing a carer: someone who lives in or comes in daily, and helps an older person keep their routines, their dignity and their place in the family home.
This guide is for the sons and daughters arranging that care. It covers:
- what a carer is, and isn't;
- how the domestic workers rules apply;
- a licence fee exemption many families don't know about;
- the limits on hours that shape any care plan;
- where government elder-care services fit alongside a carer.
Carer, home health assistant or nurse?
Oman's domestic workers regulation, MD 574/2025, took effect on 13 October 2025. It covers twelve occupations, including (Art. 2):
- housemaid («عامل منزل»);
- home health assistant («مساعد صحي بالمنزل»);
- private nurse («ممرض خاص»).
Families employing any of them follow the same core rules on contracts, pay, rest and leave.
In everyday language, most families say "carer". It helps to be clear about three different kinds of help:
- A carer supports daily life: company, meals, help moving around the home, personal routines, and keeping the household running. This is not medical care. The regulation doesn't set out what a home health assistant does, so ask the Ministry of Labour whether that occupation fits the role you have in mind.
- A private nurse is a nursing role. Nursing tasks should be carried out only by someone qualified to do them.
- Home healthcare services from hospitals, clinics and home-care providers send health professionals to visit. These are health services you arrange separately. Their staff are not employees of the family.
Why the job title matters. An employer may not employ a worker in an occupation other than the one on their licence (Art. 9). If the main job is caring for your parent, check which occupation is on the worker's licence before you agree duties. Ask the Ministry of Labour how to proceed if it's different.
Carers are not a substitute for medical advice. Decisions about medicines, wound care, feeding difficulties, falls or a change in your parent's condition belong with their doctor or health team. A good carer notices changes and tells the family. Agree with your parent's doctor what help at home is appropriate.
What a home carer can help with
Every household is different. Write the duties you agree into the contract, which must state "the type and nature of the work" and the place of work (Art. 19; translation ours). Typical day-to-day help includes:
- Company and conversation. Often the most valued part of the role, especially for a parent who is alone for much of the day.
- Daily routines: getting up, dressing, washing and grooming, with the respect and privacy an adult is owed.
- Meals: preparing food, helping at mealtimes, and making sure your parent drinks enough, following any guidance from their doctor.
- Moving safely: a steady arm around the house, helping in and out of a chair or bed, and accompanying short walks.
- Reminders and appointments: prompting your parent to follow the routine their doctor has set, and going with them to appointments.
- The household: laundry, tidying and keeping your parent's room comfortable.
- Keeping the family informed: noticing changes in mood, appetite, sleep or mobility, and telling you promptly.
The regulation also sets expectations of the worker. They must treat the employer and family well, and not mistreat them, "especially the children, persons with disabilities and the elderly". They must keep the family's private matters confidential and follow lawful instructions (Art. 18; translation ours). In return, the employer must treat the worker in a way that preserves their dignity, safety and health, and must not assign dangerous work (Art. 13).
The licence fee exemption for older people
The Ministry of Labour's standard fee is OMR 101 per worker for up to three workers, and OMR 141 per worker from the fourth. It covers issuing the work licence, issuing or renewing the worker's licence to practise, and registering the worker, and it applies to home health assistants and private nurses as well as housemaids (MD 602/2025, Annex 2).
MD 602/2025 Article 15 exempts certain people from those fees for one worker. The exemption applies when they recruit a housemaid, nanny, private driver, private nurse or home health assistant. The exempt groups are:
- people with a disability, on presenting a disability card;
- anyone whose health condition requires special care, as shown by a Ministry of Social Development social assessment;
- an older person who is unable to care for themselves, as shown by a Ministry of Social Development social assessment;
- people entitled to the Family Income Benefit, as shown by the Social Protection Fund.
The exemption covers one worker. If a second worker is genuinely needed, the ministry may exempt that one too, based on the social assessment.
Two practical points to check before you rely on it:
- Whose name is on the application. The exemption is framed around the older person. If an adult son or daughter will be the employer, ask the Ministry of Labour whether the exemption still applies.
- The type of hire. The article refers to fees "when recruiting". Ask whether it also applies when the worker is already in Oman and moves to you.
The social assessment is carried out by the Ministry of Social Development. Start there, and keep a copy of the result for the Ministry of Labour application.
Hours, rest and round-the-clock care
This is where care plans most often go wrong. Under MD 574/2025:
- Daily hours follow the contract. MD 574/2025 caps the working day at 12 hours with at least 8 hours' rest; how breaks count is a question for legal counsel (Art. 22). Overtime is capped at 2 extra hours a day, agreed in writing and paid extra.
- A weekly rest day is paid. Working it needs written agreement, plus an extra day's pay or another day off (Art. 23).
- Sick leave is up to 30 days a year on full pay with a medical certificate. The worker can't be asked to work during it (Art. 24).
- Annual leave is at least 21 days a year on full pay (Art. 25).
So one carer cannot provide 24-hour care, even living in. If your parent needs help at night, or can't safely be left alone, build a plan that covers:
- night-time: who responds if your parent wakes, falls or needs help;
- the weekly rest day: family cover, or a second worker;
- leave and illness: who steps in during the carer's annual leave or sick leave;
- medical needs: professional home-care visits, arranged with your parent's health team, for anything beyond daily support.
Live-in or live-out? Live-in can make early mornings and evenings easier to cover within the hour limits. A live-in carer needs a room that meets Article 14: ventilated, lit and air-conditioned, with good bedding, a wardrobe and a sanitary toilet. A live-out carer must be given free transport to and from work (Art. 15). The trade-offs are in our live-in vs live-out guide.
Health insurance for the carer is the employer's responsibility (Art. 16), whichever arrangement you choose.
Hiring a carer who is already in Oman
The legal basics:
- Age: the worker must be 21 or over (MD 574/2025, Art. 6).
- Lawful status: you may not employ a worker who isn't licensed to work for you, or who is living in Oman unlawfully (Art. 9). To take on someone licensed to another employer, the lawful route is a transfer of services through Ministry of Labour e-service 286. The government fee is OMR 5. Read our change-of-employer guide before agreeing a start date.
- Contract: a written contract in Arabic (or with an Arabic copy), registered with the ministry. It sets out duties, hours, rest and the monthly wage (Art. 19). Probation can last up to 15 days (Art. 20).
- Workers never pay: no one may take money from the worker for recruiting, employing or transferring them (Art. 7).
- Their documents: you may not keep the carer's passport or personal documents without their written consent (Art. 5).
What to talk about with a candidate:
- their experience caring for older people, and the kinds of support they've given;
- how they'd handle a typical day with your parent, and what they'd do if something changed;
- the languages they speak, and whether they can talk comfortably with your parent;
- whether they're comfortable with personal care, and with any mobility support your parent needs;
- the hours, rest day and live-in or live-out arrangement you're offering.
Where possible, let your parent meet the candidate and have a say. A carer is someone they will spend much of each day with.
Pay is agreed between you. Oman sets no minimum wage for expatriate domestic workers, and some workers' home countries set their own rules. See our salary guide. When you post a job, describe your parent's needs in general terms, with the hours and the wage. Share personal health details only when, and with whom, you choose.
Government elder-care services in Oman
A carer employed by the family can work alongside public services. What we could confirm:
- Home Care Programme. The Ministry of Social Development runs a Home Care Programme with Ministry of Health support, delivering social and health services to people at home. The ministry reported 1,499 beneficiaries in the first half of 2025 (Muscat Daily, 30 September 2025).
- Integrated home visits. In July 2026 the ministry launched a community-based home-care initiative for older persons. Multidisciplinary teams carry out coordinated home visits in the wilayats of Muscat, Seeb, Al Amerat and Quriyat, and 600 visits are planned for 2026. The Ministry of Health handles medical assessments, treatment follow-up and health education (Muscat Daily, 12 July 2026).
- Social care homes. Under MD 169/2025, the ministry's social care homes admit people aged 60 or over who meet all of these conditions:
- they are Omani nationals;
- they are unable to meet their own needs and manage their affairs;
- they have no family, or their family doesn't provide proper care;
- no suitable alternative family is available;
- they are free of infectious diseases and severe psychiatric disorders (Arts 1 and 3).
The minister may waive any of these conditions in an individual case, based on the social assessment (Art. 3).
For any of these, contact the Ministry of Social Development directly. The same ministry carries out the social assessment used for the licence fee exemption above.
Before you start: a family checklist
- Talk to your parent first. Their wishes about privacy, routines and who helps with personal care come first.
- Speak to their doctor about what support is appropriate at home, and what needs a health professional.
- Ask the Ministry of Social Development about a social assessment. It may unlock the Ministry of Labour fee exemption, and it opens a conversation about home-care services.
- Decide live-in or live-out, and check the room or the transport arrangements.
- Plan cover for nights, rest days and leave, because one carer can't do it all.
- Write a clear job description: duties, hours, rest day, languages, and the monthly wage.
- Check the legal basics for any candidate: 21 or over, the occupation on the licence, and the lawful transfer route.
- Put everything in the registered contract, and keep the worker's file (Art. 17).
When you're ready, post a job free or browse carer profiles, and contact the helpers whose experience suits your family.