How to Buy Property at AIDA Oman as a Foreigner: Step-by-Step Guide 2026

This guide follows a purchase at AIDA from the first question, “can I own here?”, to the title in your name and what it gives you afterwards: a home of your own, a residence visa, the option to sell. Prices, payment plans and handover dates are the developer’s published terms for each collection.

Before you start: what you own at AIDA

AIDA is developed by DarGlobal, the international arm of Dar Al Arkan, together with OMRAN, Oman’s tourism development company. It covers about 4.5 million m² in Yiti on the eastern edge of Muscat, around 130 metres above the Gulf of Oman, with the Trump International Golf Club at its heart.

• Freehold, any nationality. Because AIDA is an ITC, foreigners own the home and its land outright, not a lease or a right of use.
• Title in your name. The property is registered in your own name or your company’s.
• Residency attached. Ownership in an ITC opens a renewable residence visa for you and your immediate family.

How Oman’s ownership types differ is explained in the freehold guide; the terms used below are in the glossary.

Step 1. Choose a collection

AIDA is sold in collections, each with its own architecture, sizes, payment plan and handover date. Compare them on four points: price, plan, handover and the yearly service charge.

• Halo Villas. Two-bedroom duplexes of 107 to 110 m², from OMR 150,742 ($391,929), handover in Q4 2029.
• Marriott Residences. Furnished one- to three-bedroom homes of 68 to 194 m², from OMR 147,110, handover in December 2028.
• Aida Oceana Villas. Two- to five-bedroom villas of 91 to 407 m², from $327,000.

You buy directly under the developer’s terms, so the price on the card is the developer’s price. All current options are on the properties page.

If your budget sits below 500,000 OMR, compare Halo Villas with the Sustainable District villas next door.

Step 2. Secure the home with the down payment

The first instalment of the payment plan takes the unit off the market at the agreed price. On Halo Villas it is 20% of the price, about OMR 30,148 on a home at OMR 150,742. Before you pay, get written confirmation of the unit number, the price and the full payment schedule.

Step 3. Read the sales agreement before you sign

The sales and purchase agreement with the developer governs the whole deal. Check that it states:

• the unit, its area and the price, and whether VAT is included;
• the payment schedule, stage by stage;
• the handover date and what happens if it slips;
• the project’s escrow account, into which every instalment is paid;
• the 3% registration fee and when it is due;
• the service charge rate;
• the conditions for selling the contract before handover.

Step 4. Pay by stages into escrow

Instalments go into a bank-managed escrow account opened for the project and are released to the developer as construction progresses. There is no bank loan and no interest: the developer’s plan is the financing. Each collection has its own plan:

1. Halo Villas 20% down payment, then 1.5% a month for 40 months, then 20% on handover: 80% during construction and 20% at the end. On OMR 150,742 that is about OMR 2,261 a month.
2. Marriott Residences 65% during construction and 35% on handover.

Confirm the plan of the specific unit in its sales agreement: plans can change between releases.

Step 5. Accept the home after an inspection

At handover the developer delivers the finished home and the final instalment falls due. Before you accept it, inspect the finishes, doors and windows, plumbing, electrics, terrace and pool, and list any defects for the developer to fix. This check is called snagging; if you cannot attend, a specialist inspector can do it for you.

Step 6. Register the title in your name

Registration makes you the legal owner: the home and its land are entered in Oman’s real estate register in your name. The Real Estate Register Law of 2026 (Royal Decree 56/2026, in force since 18 May 2026) confirms that non-Omanis register property under the existing ownership rules. For an off-plan home the title is issued at handover, when the 3% registration fee is paid.

What the purchase costs on top of the price

• Registration fee: 3% of the price, paid at handover, plus small fixed government charges of 2 to 25 OMR. On a Halo Villa at OMR 150,742 the 3% is about OMR 4,522.
• VAT: 5% on the first sale of a new home by the developer. Check in the sales agreement whether the price includes it. A later resale is exempt.
• Service charge every year for the community’s upkeep: security, landscaping, roads, pools and common areas. It is about OMR 4 per m² a year at Halo Villas (about OMR 440 a year for 110 m²) and about OMR 12 per m² a year at the furnished Marriott Residences.
• No annual property tax, no capital-gains tax on resale and no personal income tax, as of the publication date. A personal income tax law has been adopted and takes effect on 1 January 2028. More in Oman’s property tax rules.

Residency that comes with ownership

Buying a home at AIDA gives the owner and immediate family a renewable two-year Omani residence visa. There is no minimum price and the fee is OMR 50; the visa stays available for as long as you own the home. See owner visa rules and how renewal works.

Oman’s 10-year Golden Residency, launched on 31 August 2025, starts from an investment of OMR 200,000. Through property it covers completed homes with a title deed in an ITC, so an off-plan buyer applies after handover. Which AIDA homes reach the threshold is in this breakdown.

Selling before handover

You do not have to wait for the keys to sell. At AIDA the off-plan contract can be assigned to a new buyer once 40% of the price has been paid, under the developer’s terms in the sales agreement. The new buyer takes over the remaining instalments.

Buying from abroad

Most of the process does not need you in Oman: you choose the unit, pay by bank transfer straight into the project’s escrow account. For signing and registration, ask before you pay whether a power of attorney is accepted; how it works is in buying through a power of attorney. If you want to see AIDA first, plan a focused viewing trip, and if you will live here part of the year, open a local bank account.

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Questions about a specific unit or payment plan? Write to us.