Free Oman guide: the one year deadline on a tourism complex home

Free guide for British expats in Oman

An unclaimed Omani property can end up managed by a ministry, then lost altogether.

A 17 page guide for British residents of Muscat, Salalah and elsewhere in the Sultanate. It covers Article 17 of the Civil Transactions Law, which refers succession to the law of your nationality, the one year application window and fifteen year forfeiture on unclaimed tourism complex property, and the short apostille route Oman offers. It also sets out the UK inheritance tax position that follows you.

• 17 pages
• Updated August 2026
• No payment details
• Article 17 and the law of your nationality
• Tourism complex property and its statutory deadlines
• Apostille, administration and UK inheritance tax
• What your executors do, in order

Twenty minutes of reading that could save your family a Muscat apartment.

What happens to your estate

With a valid will

Article 17 of the Civil Transactions Law refers succession, wills and dispositions taking effect after death to the law of the state the deceased belonged to at death, so a British national's own law is the starting point. A will executed in England in English form is formally valid for Omani purposes, because Article 17 refers the form of a will to the law of the place where it was made. The sealed UK grant issued on it is what answers the Omani question of who the heirs are.

Without a will

English intestacy would still decide who inherits, because Article 17 refers to your national law whether or not you left a will, but your family has to obtain letters of administration first and that is slower. A surviving spouse does not automatically take everything where there are children, and an unmarried partner takes nothing. Article 18 devolves the Omani financial rights of a foreigner with no heir to the Sultanate.

Outside your will entirely

Freehold property in an integrated tourism complex carries its own timetable under Article 7 of the regulation issued by Royal Decree 12/2006, and the title only moves on an application made in Oman. How a joint bank account behaves turns on the mandate you signed rather than on any general rule, with two reputable Omani banks' published terms pointing different ways. The end of service gratuity is claimed from the employer against the heirship documents.

With a valid will

Without a valid will

Assets outside the will

Key facts

• One year If no heir applies for a tourism complex property within one year of the embassy being notified, the Ministry of Tourism designates a body to manage it. An heir who applies inside that year, with the documents the regulation asks for, never reaches that stage at all.
• Fifteen years Property nobody has claimed devolves to the Government of the Sultanate after fifteen years. Someone who later proves he was an heir keeps a right to compensation rather than the property itself.
• OMR 45 Registering the title in the heirs' names costs OMR 45 and takes about a day, against the court's legal notice of heirs, the title deed, the cadastral plan and identity documents. The Omani counters are the quick part; the UK grant, the apostille and the translation are the slow ones.
• One year Why it matters. If no heir applies within a year of the embassy being notified, the Ministry of Tourism appoints someone else to manage the property.
• Fifteen years Why it matters. Unclaimed property devolves to the Government after fifteen years, and a late heir keeps only a right to compensation.
• OMR 45 Why it matters. Registering the title in the heirs' names costs OMR 45 and takes about a day, so it is the paperwork before it that costs time.

What is inside the guide

Wills and estate planning for British expats in Oman Why an unclaimed Muscat property can pass to the Government after fifteen years, and how one document and a short paper chain prevent it. Free download · 2026 edition · 17 pages

Common questions

We own an apartment in an Omani tourism complex. What do our executors need to know?

That the title does not move on its own. Under Article 7 of the regulation issued by Royal Decree 12/2006, succession to the property is governed by the law of the state the owner belonged to, but an heir or an agent in Oman still has to apply, with the heirs and shares under the owner's national law, the death certificate and the heirship declaration. If nobody applies within the year, the property goes into ministry-appointed management and devolves to the Government after fifteen years.

We own an apartment in an Omani tourism complex. What do our executors need to know?

That the title does not move on its own. Under Article 7 of the regulation issued by Royal Decree 12/2006, succession to the property is governed by the law of the state the owner belonged to, but an heir or an agent in Oman still has to apply, with the heirs and shares under the owner's national law, the death certificate and the heirship declaration. If nobody applies within the year, the property goes into ministry-appointed management and devolves to the Government after fifteen years.

Is it really free?

Yes. No payment details, no trial, no catch. The guide shows you how we think before you decide whether to use us for anything.

Will you fill my inbox?

We send the guide, and nothing else unless you tick the box for the email series. Every email in it has an unsubscribe link that works first time.

Is this legal advice?

No. The guide is general information for British expats, written in plain English. Expat Legacy is a will writing service rather than a law firm.

About the author

Jamie Lee, founder of Expat Legacy, has drafted more than 2,000 wills for British expats. He has lived the expat life himself since 2004.

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