Published 16 October 2026 | By FJP Investment Editorial Team

Oman may not receive quite the same international investment headlines as Dubai or Singapore, but it has a substantial community of business owners, professionals, internationally mobile expatriates and private investors.

Many of those investors already think beyond a single market.

Capital may be held across Oman, the wider Gulf, the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States and Asia.

For British expatriates in Muscat, the connection with the UK can be particularly strong. Family, pensions, property, businesses and existing investments may all remain in Britain even after somebody has lived in the Gulf for many years.

Omani investors may have different reasons for looking at the UK, including geographical diversification, sterling exposure, property ownership or access to British businesses and private investment markets.

That makes investing in the UK from Oman a genuinely cross-border investment decision.

Tax, currency, regulation, liquidity and legal structure all need to be considered alongside the underlying asset or business.

This guide explains some of the issues Oman-based investors may encounter when researching UK property, private credit and other alternative investments.

Important: This article is provided for general educational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice, an invitation to invest or a recommendation concerning any investment. Availability of any particular investment to a person in Oman will depend on applicable investor eligibility and UK and Omani legal and regulatory requirements.

Why might an investor in Oman look at the UK?

An international investor does not need every asset to be located in the country where they live.

The UK can potentially provide exposure to:

• residential and commercial property;
• British businesses;
• public markets;
• private credit;
• property and development finance;
• corporate debt;
• growth capital;
• asset-backed lending; and
• other private investment structures.

For some Oman-based investors, Britain is familiar territory.

That can make researching an investment easier.

It should not result in lower standards of due diligence.

A company being British, a property being located in England or documentation being governed by English law does not remove commercial or investment risk.

UK property is often the most familiar starting point

Direct property ownership remains one of the most recognisable forms of UK investment for overseas buyers.

An Oman-based investor might consider British residential property for rental use, family reasons, education or long-term ownership.

But the purchase price is only one element of the cost.

Other considerations can include:

• Stamp Duty Land Tax;
• legal fees;
• surveying;
• mortgage costs where finance is used;
• management fees;
• repairs;
• insurance;
• service charges;
• UK taxation; and
• eventual disposal costs.

Qualifying non-UK resident purchases of residential property in England and Northern Ireland can currently attract an additional two percentage-point SDLT surcharge.

Our detailed guide to buying UK property from overseas examines the process in considerably more detail.

Owning property elsewhere can also affect UK acquisition tax

An international buyer should not assume that their first property in Britain is automatically treated as their first property for UK Stamp Duty purposes.

Residential property already owned elsewhere in the world can be relevant when determining whether the higher rates for additional dwellings apply.

An investor who owns a home in Muscat, for example, should establish the applicable SDLT treatment before completing a British residential purchase.

The tax calculation needs to be based on the actual purchaser and circumstances rather than nationality alone.

UK property is only one form of UK investment

Some investors want exposure to Britain without personally becoming landlords.

That can lead them towards areas such as:

• private corporate lending;
• loan notes;
• bonds;
• property-development finance;
• secured lending;
• private equity;
• specialist funds; and
• other alternative investments.

These structures carry different risks from direct property ownership.

An investor may no longer have to worry personally about tenants or maintenance, but they may instead be exposed to:

• borrower default;
• corporate failure;
• illiquidity;
• asset values;
• security ranking;
• refinancing;
• legal enforcement; and
• limited regulatory protection.

Neither route is automatically superior.

The important thing is to understand what the investor actually owns or is contractually entitled to.

Private credit is fundamentally lending

Private credit has become an increasingly significant source of capital for companies and projects.

Instead of raising all their finance from banks or public bond markets, borrowers can arrange debt privately.

An investor may therefore provide capital to an identifiable company under contractual terms covering matters such as:

• the amount borrowed;
• the investment period;
• payment obligations;
• security where applicable;
• events of default; and
• repayment.

The underlying questions remain relatively simple:

Who is borrowing the money?

Why do they need it?

What supports their ability to meet the contractual obligations?

How is the original debt expected to be repaid?

Our private credit guide for international investors examines these questions in greater depth.

Loan notes are one structure investors may encounter

A loan note is fundamentally a debt instrument.

It records money or another debt owed by an issuer to the noteholder under agreed terms.

An investor subscribing to a conventional loan note therefore normally becomes a creditor rather than an owner of the company.

Loan notes can differ considerably.

They can be:

• secured or unsecured;
• senior or subordinated;
• transferable or highly restricted;
• convertible into equity in some structures; or
• issued with different maturity and payment arrangements.

Our guide What Is a Loan Note and How Does It Work? explains the terminology and structure in more detail.

Contractual payment terms are not guarantees

This distinction matters particularly in private debt.

A legal document can specify what an issuer is obliged to pay.

It cannot guarantee that the company will always have the financial resources to do so.

The investor therefore needs to understand the underlying business rather than looking only at the payment schedule.

Areas worth examining include:

• revenue;
• cash flow;
• profitability;
• existing borrowing;
• use of new capital;
• asset values;
• management;
• maturity profile; and
• the proposed repayment strategy.

Security should be examined rather than simply accepted

Investments are sometimes described as secured, asset backed or property backed.

These can be meaningful characteristics.

But the terminology needs to be tested against the actual legal and financial position.

Investors should understand:

• which asset provides security;
• who legally owns it;
• its current value;
• who valued it;
• what other borrowing is secured against it;
• where the investor ranks;
• who holds the security;
• how enforcement would work; and
• what might realistically be recovered following default.

Our guide to asset-backed investments and security looks specifically at these questions.

Oman has its own financial regulatory framework

An investment being located in the UK does not mean only UK rules matter when it is communicated to an investor sitting in Oman.

Oman’s financial-services sector is supervised by the Financial Services Authority in areas including capital markets, insurance and related regulated activities.

The country’s Securities Law provides the legislative framework for securities activities.

Importantly, Oman introduced a new Executive Regulation of the Securities Law in July 2026, creating a more detailed framework governing capital-market institutions, securities-sector entities, collective investment schemes, issuers and related activities.

Oman also introduced a new regulatory framework for investment-banking activities in August 2026.

For cross-border private investment, this reinforces an important point:

an opportunity should not be assumed to be freely promotable in Oman simply because it can be communicated to an eligible investor elsewhere.

Investor eligibility must be considered across both jurisdictions

UK financial-promotion rules can restrict how certain high-risk investments are communicated and which investor categories may receive them.

Oman has its own securities and financial-services framework.

An investor may therefore satisfy a particular UK eligibility category without that fact alone determining whether and how an investment can be communicated in Oman.

The particular:

• investment;
• issuer;
• communication;
• intermediary;
• location of the investor; and
• applicable exemptions

all need to be considered.

This is why country-specific investor eligibility is more than an administrative detail in international private markets.

Oman’s FSA provides an investor-protection portal

One useful feature of the Omani regulatory framework is the Financial Services Authority’s Investor Protection Portal.

The portal is designed to help investors identify entities licensed by the FSA and also provides information concerning unauthorised entities.

For an investor, the principle is useful even when considering an overseas opportunity:

verify who the parties are and what they are authorised to do rather than relying solely on what marketing material says.

Regulatory status should always be checked with the relevant regulator rather than inferred from a company name, website or professional-looking presentation.

Regulation of a party does not automatically regulate the entire investment

This distinction is particularly important.

An investment structure may involve:

• a regulated broker;
• a solicitor;
• an accountant;
• a security trustee;
• a bank;
• a property valuer; and
• an unregulated underlying issuer.

The involvement of a regulated professional does not automatically give the underlying investment the same regulatory status or protections.

An investor should understand the role performed by each party independently.

What about personal taxation in Oman?

This is an area where investors should be particularly careful about relying on old assumptions.

Oman legislated a new Personal Income Tax Law under Royal Decree 56/2025.

The new regime is scheduled to take effect from the beginning of 2028.

The law provides for a 5% tax rate on taxable income for natural persons whose total annual income exceeds OMR 42,000, subject to the detailed categories, deductions, exemptions and conditions contained in the legislation.

For somebody making a multi-year investment from Oman in 2026, this is important.

The tax framework applying when an investment is made may not necessarily be identical to the framework operating when income is received or the investment matures several years later.

The correct tax treatment therefore needs to be assessed for the individual investor and investment at the relevant time.

Do not assume the new Omani tax automatically applies to every UK investment

The fact that the new Personal Income Tax regime has been legislated does not mean every future receipt from every overseas investment will necessarily be taxed identically.

The legislation contains detailed rules concerning the types of income within scope and applicable deductions and exemptions.

The investor’s residence, the nature of the payment and the relevant double-tax treaty can also matter.

It would therefore be inappropriate to apply a simple 5% calculation to an overseas investment without considering the actual legal position.

The UK and Oman have a Double Taxation Agreement

The United Kingdom and Oman have a long-standing Double Taxation Agreement covering income and capital gains.

The agreement has subsequently been amended and modified through the international Multilateral Instrument.

Its purpose is broadly to allocate taxing rights between the two countries and provide mechanisms for relieving double taxation where the treaty applies.

Depending on the type of income or gain, treaty provisions can deal with matters including:

• property income;
• business profits;
• dividends;
• interest;
• royalties;
• employment income; and
• capital gains.

A Double Taxation Agreement does not mean every UK investment held by an Oman resident becomes tax free.

It means the tax position should be analysed using both domestic rules and the treaty.

UK taxation can remain relevant to an Oman resident

Living outside Britain does not automatically remove UK tax from every UK asset.

Examples can include:

• UK rental income;
• disposals of UK land and property;
• particular forms of UK-source income;
• corporate structures; and
• other UK tax connections.

The exact treatment depends on the investment and the investor.

That is one reason tax should be considered before investing rather than simply when a tax return eventually becomes due.

Currency exposure is particularly relevant for Oman

The Omani rial has maintained a fixed peg to the US dollar for decades.

The Central Bank of Oman states that the current parity has remained unchanged since 1986 at approximately US$2.6008 per Omani rial.

This means an Oman-based investor taking a sterling investment is effectively introducing meaningful GBP exposure into a wealth base that may behave closely with the US dollar.

If sterling moves significantly during the investment period, the value of payments translated back into Omani rials can change.

The underlying investment might perform exactly according to its sterling terms while the investor experiences a different economic result measured in OMR.

Currency can improve or reduce the final outcome

Foreign-exchange exposure works in both directions.

Sterling appreciation can increase the OMR value of sterling-denominated assets.

Sterling depreciation can reduce it.

This applies to:

• UK property;
• rental income;
• private-credit payments;
• investment redemptions;
• dividends; and
• eventual sale proceeds.

The sensible point is not to predict exchange rates.

It is simply to recognise that the currency exposure exists.

British expats in Oman should not assume nationality determines UK tax residence

A British citizen can live in Oman while being non-UK resident for tax purposes.

But nationality itself does not determine UK tax residence.

The UK applies the Statutory Residence Test, which considers factors including days spent in Britain, work, accommodation and other UK ties.

An expatriate who returns to Britain frequently or maintains substantial connections there should establish their actual position rather than simply assuming that living in Muscat settles the matter.

International mobility makes liquidity important

Expatriate lives can change quickly.

An investor may live in Oman today and move to another Gulf country, Asia, Europe or back to Britain several years later.

This makes liquidity particularly relevant when considering private investments.

If an investment is structured for several years and has no active secondary market, the investor should generally assume that capital may remain committed throughout that period.

And if the underlying borrower encounters difficulties, repayment may take longer than originally expected.

An investment should therefore be understood as illiquid where that is its true economic nature, regardless of whether the documentation technically allows transfers.

Due diligence becomes more important when investing from overseas

An Oman-based investor may never physically visit the British company, development or property they are considering.

That should increase the need for independent evidence.

Depending on the opportunity, useful checks can include:

• Companies House records;
• HM Land Registry records;
• financial accounts;
• directors and beneficial ownership;
• existing company charges;
• planning records;
• independent valuations;
• security documentation;
• legal documents;
• contracts;
• professional reports; and
• independent legal, tax or accounting advice.

Our investment due diligence guide provides a detailed checklist for private opportunities.

Do not confuse an introduction with an endorsement

Private markets often operate through relationships.

An investor may first hear about an opportunity through:

• a private bank;
• wealth manager;
• family office;
• professional adviser;
• investment introducer;
• corporate-finance firm;
• business relationship; or
• another investor.

The route through which the opportunity was discovered does not remove the need to understand the underlying investment.

An investor should still identify:

• who issues the investment;
• who receives the money;
• who manages the underlying business;
• who holds any security;
• what regulatory protections apply; and
• how contractual obligations are expected to be met.

Source of funds and source of wealth

Investors transferring significant capital internationally should expect appropriate anti-money-laundering and source-of-funds checks.

Depending on the investment and professionals involved, documents can include:

• passport or identity documents;
• proof of Omani residence;
• bank statements;
• salary documentation;
• company accounts;
• business-sale proceeds;
• property-sale documents;
• investment statements;
• inheritance records; and
• information explaining broader source of wealth.

Oman’s Financial Services Authority itself supervises AML compliance within the financial sectors it regulates.

International verification should therefore be regarded as a normal part of a substantial cross-border investment process.

Questions an Oman-based investor may want answered

Before considering a UK private opportunity, useful educational questions include:

• What exactly is the investment?
• Who is the legal issuer or borrower?
• What will the capital be used for?
• What is the underlying business?
• What financial resources support the issuer’s obligations?
• How is the original capital expected to be repaid?
• What existing debt does the company have?
• What security exists?
• Where does that security rank?
• How liquid is the investment?
• What regulatory protections apply?
• Can the opportunity lawfully be communicated to me in Oman?
• What UK tax considerations exist?
• What Omani tax considerations exist now and during the investment period?
• Does the UK-Oman tax treaty affect the position?
• What GBP/OMR currency exposure exists?
• What independent evidence has been reviewed?
• What could cause the investment not to perform according to its contractual terms?

The purpose of these questions is not to decide that an investment is suitable.

It is to understand what is being considered.

How FJP Investment works with international investors

FJP Investment has operated within the alternative investment market since 2013.

We work with qualifying investors in the UK and internationally and consider opportunities across areas including private debt, loan notes, bonds, property and development finance, growth capital and other specialist investment structures.

FJP Investment acts as an introducer.

We do not manage investors’ money, provide personalised investment recommendations or assess personal suitability.

Before deciding whether an opportunity is one we are prepared to introduce, we seek to understand areas including:

• the underlying business;
• management;
• corporate structure;
• financial information;
• use of funds;
• existing borrowing;
• investment documentation;
• security where applicable;
• asset valuations;
• commercial risks; and
• the intended mechanism for meeting obligations to investors.

Reviewing an opportunity does not remove investment risk or constitute a recommendation.

Investors remain responsible for their own assessment and independent professional advice where appropriate.

You can learn more on our How We Work page and our Alternative Investment Opportunities page.

Frequently asked questions

Can someone living in Oman invest in UK assets?

Potentially, yes. Oman-based investors can hold many forms of UK asset, subject to the rules applying to the particular transaction, tax position, investor eligibility and relevant UK and Omani legal and regulatory requirements.

Can an Oman resident buy UK property?

Potentially, yes. Overseas buyers can acquire UK property, although non-resident SDLT rules, financing, tax, management and other practical considerations can apply.

Is there a tax treaty between Oman and the UK?

Yes. The UK and Oman have an in-force Double Taxation Agreement covering income and capital gains, subsequently amended and modified by the Multilateral Instrument.

Does Oman have personal income tax?

Oman has legislated a Personal Income Tax regime that is scheduled to take effect from the beginning of 2028. The law applies a 5% rate to taxable income under its detailed rules where annual total income exceeds OMR 42,000. Individual treatment requires consideration of the legislation and circumstances.

Does that mean every UK investment will face 5% Omani tax after 2028?

No. The application of the new regime depends on the types of income covered, exemptions, deductions, residence and other rules. The UK-Oman Double Taxation Agreement may also be relevant. Specialist advice should be taken.

Is the Omani rial linked to the US dollar?

Yes. The Central Bank of Oman maintains a fixed exchange-rate peg, with the official parity unchanged since 1986 at approximately US$2.6008 per Omani rial.

Can Oman-based investors invest in UK private credit?

Potentially, depending on the specific opportunity, applicable investor eligibility and UK and Omani legal and regulatory requirements.

Are UK private investments regulated?

Some structures and activities are regulated and others are not. The position should be established for the particular investment and each party involved rather than assumed from the fact that the investment is based in Britain.

Does FJP Investment provide financial advice to investors in Oman?

No. FJP Investment acts as an introducer and does not provide personalised investment, tax or legal advice or assess personal suitability. Whether information concerning a specific opportunity may be provided depends on applicable investor eligibility and regulatory requirements.

Final thoughts

Oman sits within an increasingly international investment region.

For investors and expatriates living there, the UK can form part of a wider global asset base through property, companies, private credit and other investments.

But cross-border investing adds layers rather than removing them.

The investor needs to understand the underlying asset or borrower, the legal structure, liquidity, regulatory position, currency exposure and tax framework.

Oman’s own financial and tax environment is also developing, with a new securities regulatory framework introduced in 2026 and Personal Income Tax legislation scheduled to take effect in 2028.

That makes one principle particularly important:

make decisions using the rules and facts that actually apply, rather than assumptions based on how things used to work.

FJP Investment provides general information about the alternative investment market and acts as an introducer to third-party opportunities. If you are based in Oman and wish to understand more about FJP Investment’s introduction process, you can register your interest below. Whether information concerning any specific opportunity can be provided will depend on applicable investor eligibility and UK and Omani legal and regulatory requirements.

Capital is at risk. Private and alternative investments can be unregulated, complex, illiquid and/or non-transferable and investors may lose some or all of their capital. Contractual terms and security do not guarantee repayment. Where an investment is unregulated, mainstream UK regulatory protections may not apply. FJP Investment acts as an introducer and does not provide personalised investment, legal or tax advice or assess personal suitability. Nothing in this article constitutes a financial promotion in any jurisdiction where such communication would be unlawful. Independent professional advice should be obtained where appropriate.