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Pre-Arrival Checklist

The documents required to enter Oman include the following:

a passport valid for at least six months (it’s useful to have at least three or four photocopies);
at least six passport-size photographs;
a marriage certificate (if applicable);
birth certificates for all family members;
a medical certificate in the case of workers.

While you’re in Oman, you’re required to carry identification documents, e.g. passport or national identity card and appropriate entry and residence visas.

Travel Policies and Procedures for New Faculty:
New appointees must have a work entry visa before they purchase their ticket, in order to know when to buy the ticket. The work entry visa is obtained by DU, and will show the period within which the person may enter Oman as an employee of DU. In order that DU obtain the work entry visa, the appointee must send a colored copy of his or her passport, valid for two years, to the Human Resources Office. When the work entry visa is granted (this may take two months), HR will send a copy of it to the faculty member.

HR, or the dean's offices, will inform the new faculty who need work permits and work entry visas, of the earliest date possible for travel to Oman. This will depend on the date that DU secures the permits and visas.
The Information and Public Relations Office may be contacted as follows: Email: info@du.edu.om, and a_almaalam@du.edu.om
Telephone: +96823225061 DU extensions 307, 304, 513 Fax: 96823225064
Office of Information and Public Relations Staff

It is important that the appointee bring the copy of the work entry visa with him or her for entry to Oman, and present it to the visa section at Al Seeb Airport in Muscat. It is not recommended that an appointee arrive on a tourist visa. Accompanying family members--those with citizenship from the USA, Canada, or EU countries—may enter on a tourist visa, obtained at the airport, upon arrival. The HR Office should be contacted for visa information regarding all other nationalities.
When the new faculty enters Oman with the “work entry visa”, HR will begin to process the Omani residence permit.

Baggage Allowance:
The following general information concerning baggage should be taken into account:

Checked Baggage:

Upon delivery to us of your baggage, which you wish to check, we will take custody of, and issue a Baggage Identification Tag for each piece of your checked baggage. Please put your name and contact on the inside and outside of every bag (since these labels may be accidentally removed).

Baggage Allowances, Size and Weight Restrictions:

The permitted weight for baggage accepted on most flights is 20 kilos for each passenger occupying a seat. Baggage must be packed and secured in suitcases or similar containers in order to guarantee safe transport with an effective baggage handling service.

All passengers must be informed that the maximum accepted weight for any single piece of baggage is 32 kilos. Any piece of baggage exceeding this weight allotment must be shipped as cargo.
Total dimensions for checked bags may not exceed 74 inches (add length + width + height). Bags greater than these sizes may require special handling and should be shipped as cargo.

Free Baggage Allowance:

Oman Air allows a maximum of 40 kilos of free baggage allowance for business class passengers, and a maximum of 30 kilos of free baggage allowance for economy class.

All baggage in excess of the maximum accepted weight will be charged per kilo of excess baggage.

Click on this link for extra information: http://www.omanair.aero/wy/info_serv/baggage_serv.htm

Documents to Bring with You:
Send official credentials or copy of highest degree certified by the concerned university (official transcripts) to DU. If you were hired prior to completing your degree, you will need to bring your diploma in order to get the work permit.

It will be more convenient and will expedite the processing of your paperwork if you submit 6 identical passport photos to HR upon arrival. You will need about 10 extra photos as well.
You will need to bring along your marriage certificate (when applicable) for the processing of some official papers such as the residence permit and medical insurance for your spouse and children.

Money:
It is good to arrive with a small amount of savings because it takes time to receive your first paycheck although you can get an advance on payment from the Human Resources Office. If you arrive on September 1st, your first paycheck will be sent on approximately the end of September. If you are planning on transferring money to Oman, you need to bring a banker's check. Credit cards are accepted in Oman. Many banks have automatic teller machines (ATM) linked worldwide that can be used by all credit cards holders. Also traveler's checks are widely accepted.

Airport Pickup and Hotel Reservation:
As soon as you have confirmed your reservations, please send your detailed flight itinerary to Mr. Abdulrahman Baomar so that the IPR Office can make arrangements for airport pick up and for hotel reservations (when applicable). The office also need to know your flight number and time of arrival in Salalah as well as the number of people accompanying you (if applicable), so that they can bring a suitable car. (This information is needed at least one month in advance to make suitable arrangements for all concerned)

Education for Children:
Faculty are responsible for enrolling their children in a local school. This section will provide you with contact information for schools, so that you may directly get in touch with the relevant person at each school about your own child/children:

Education in English and Arabic:

Samahram Private School: This school is located very close to the current DU campus. Phone number: +968 23225760
Raydan Private School: +968 23295280
Anwar Private School: +968 23294446
Fatima Al Zahra Private School: This school is located across from the main shopping hypermarket The Lulu Center. The grades start at Kindergarten and go up to 11th grade. Phone number: +968 23292699

Education in English only:

British School: Tel/Fax: +968235242; email: brschlib@omantel.net.om; website: www.britishschool.com
Indian School: +968 23235700 (for Indian nationals only)
Pakistan School: +968 23235978
Pakistan College: +968 23235979, +968 232355731

Government Schools: (Education is in Arabic)

Al Saada General Education School for Girls: +968 23225120
Al Saada Basic Education School: +968 23234087
Al Murooj Basic Education School for Girls: +968 23234059
Al Sho’la School for Boys: +968 23226034

Policies and Procedures
Please familiarize yourselves with DU policies in the Dhofar University Faculty Manual and Conditions of Employment document which is part of the contract of service for all University staff with the exception of Foundation Program Unit faculty.