Spain and Oman Bring Diplomatic Visa-Free Agreement Into Force

Spain has formally activated its long-negotiated visa-waiver accord with the Sultanate of Oman, abolishing short-stay visa requirements for holders of diplomatic, special and service passports on both sides. The measure, published in Muscat’s Official Gazette on 4 January and confirmed by Spain’s foreign ministry a day later, is laid down in Royal Decree 3/2026 and took practical effect on 7 January 2026. Accredited officials may now enter either country for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without first applying for a Schengen or Omani sticker, cutting several weeks from the usual paperwork cycle.

Although limited to official passports, the deal removes one of the last administrative hurdles for a fast-growing bilateral agenda. Spain’s Navantia shipyards are bidding to modernise the Royal Omani Navy, while joint green-hydrogen and port-logistics projects are moving from memorandum to tender stage. Companies running government contracts in Muscat estimate the waiver will slash compliance costs by €300-€500 per trip and accelerate bid-team rotations.



Madrid will shortly publish a ministerial order instructing consulates to stop issuing visas in the affected categories and to annotate existing multiple-entry Schengen stickers as “exempt”. Oman’s Royal Police have issued a NOTAM to airlines and are updating their e-Visa platform so that carriers can board Spanish diplomatic travellers without a middleware check.

For multinationals, the practical advice is clear: remind executives that the waiver covers only official passports; ordinary business travellers must still respect the Schengen 90/180-day rule in Spain and Oman’s standard e-Visa scheme. Mobility managers should update policy decks and travel-booking bots so that staff with service passports are flagged as visa-exempt and can skip the usual lead time.