Need help to review an offer from Muscat

Hi Vinoth,

Firstly you must find out if your company has the required labour clearance. Else, your joining could drag on endlessly.

Secondly don't resign from your current job without receiving your employment visa in hand, in the hope of joining this company in Oman, even if your new employer convinces you that you will join within a month's time at the most !

R.O. 800/- after 4 months is a reasonable sum offered. Had it been with accommodation then it would have been well worth it. Now you would have to shell out R.O. 100/- to R.O. 200/- for accommodation out of your salary for a 1BHK apartment.

Don't bank too much on the sales incentives. It will always be ambiguous and you'll never get to see hard cash money coming your way. Medical insurance must be provided by your prospective employer. It is not an added incentive. Medial cover is mandatory and is part of the package as per the Omani labour laws. Same is the case with the one-month paid vacation and annual airfare to your home base / nearest international airport.

Your current monthly package converts to about R.O. 312/-. So obviously you will be getting more. You may not find furnished single BHK apartments at average rent. Such houses will cost you as much as an unfurnished 2 BKH.

Public transport is your only option till such time you get your Omani driving licence. And getting one is a huge challenge. It could cost you a substantial sum of money and would take a few good months at the very least. Read all about the details and the processes in the ‘Cars and Transportation' section of the forum.

Bring your own DTH receiver and an activated VC Card from India.

If you live carefully you should be able to save about 50% of your monthly income.

Good luck !

P.S. I am responding here in the public forum rather than to your private message to me, as some others in a similar position like yourself might be able to glean some useful information from my post too.

Hi Vinoth,
you have got the reply from the most expert person in the forum. Sumit is very helpful in nature, thanks sumit your advice is always been helpful.

icfaisachin wrote:

Hi Vinoth,
you have got the reply from the most expert person in the forum. Sumit is very helpful in nature, thanks sumit your advice is always been helpful.

Glad to be of some help !

Hello Vinod,

800 seems to be decent offer in  Muscat, (please check that they will place you in muscat only not any other city).
my Idea of approx expenses are:

1 Bhk Flat (near to main area of transportation) RO 200 to 250,
2. loan for cars might available after you will get your resident card and few months banks statement.
3. cost for obtaining driving license is depends on no. of test you will give to get license,
In muscat one hour training costs 6 OMR and one road test is costs 30 OMR ( I ll advise you to bring smart license card of India, i.e one with chip attached to it it will save you drum and slope test)
i think rest query already been answered.

Imran

Completely endorse what Sumit says. Do not resign from your current job until you employer confirms they have the clearance. In the wake of a renewed Omanisation drive, keep in mind that jobs in Oman are no longer very secure.
Since you plan to come alone and lead a simple life 800 RO is a decent salary to provide you an good opportunity to save.

There is hardly any public transportation here. Do not compare this to India or Singapore. You could get some people to help you with transportation on a sharing basis for about, 50 to 80 RO per month depending on how far your office is from your residence.

Obtaining a license is not the easiest thing in this part of the world. It will cost you minimum 300RO and can take anywhere between 2 months to a year to get one. Getting a loan or a used car is not as hard as getting a driving license.

To make things a little easier, ensure you get your Indian driving license with the chip. With this you will be exempted to 2 out of the 4 tests.

Good Luck.

Hello Summit:
Is 1500 OMR + medical insurance alright for a bachelor person. (Apart, Car, Food is all on me)

1) Also, do you know where to look for a used car?
2) Where to look for one bedroom apartments (range between 280-375 OMR) in areas (north or south Ghubra & north Al-Azabah..
3) Car hire would cost me how much for one month from a rent-a-car company? And any idea from which company i should hire a car?

Thanks a lot!

@canada2006

Being a bachelor, generally 1500 should be sufficient to lead a decent lifestyle and still save up. Obviously if you really like to spend then all money is not enough money

But here's a brief break down of expenses in reply to your query:
Car - Your best bet is online forums (dubizzle is the most popular one, other that that there are facebook pages too). In addition, there are also several outlets dealing in used cars, but keep in mind they will cost you a bit more as they will take into account their own profit margins as well. There are places located in Azaiba, and in Wataya (near the Kia / Toyota showroom) which deal exclusively in used cars.

Accommodation - Your range of 280-375 is quite reasonable for Ghubra and Azaiba areas. Ofcourse the final area you choose should be based on proximity to workplace. Again you can check through online forums like dubizzle, or directly contact real estate agents in Oman.

Rent a car - SixT (Bahwan group rent a car) is the more popular one, but there are several companies, all offer more or less similar rates. Rates change marginally depending on season, typr of car etc. My guess is if you could get it for 250-270 per month, while for larger cars / Suv obviously the price would be higher. If you plan on staying longer than 2 years, then I'd recommend buying a car rather than renting, as not only will the monthly payments be cheaper, you'll also get a little return on your investment once you decide to leave.

Hope that helps.