Terminal Illness & End-of-Life Planning in Oman: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Coordinate Palliative Care, Home Care, and Health Coverage

   • Specialist palliative and supportive care: The Ministry of Health provides tertiary palliative and supportive care through the National Oncology Centre at the Royal Hospital in Muscat, alongside Sultan Qaboos University Hospital and regional referral hospitals across Oman's governorates [1]. Ask your family member's treating consultant for a formal referral to the palliative care team to establish pain management, symptom control, and nutritional support [1].
   • Community and home healthcare services: Through the Ministry of Health Home Health Care program and Elderly Care services operating at regional hospitals and health centers, multidisciplinary nursing and medical teams provide home visits, wound management, and assistive medical equipment for bedridden or seriously ill patients [1][5]. Ensure the patient's Omani Civil ID (Bitaqa Shakhsiya) or Resident Card issued by the Royal Oman Police is up to date [6].
   • Health insurance verification (Dhamani): Omani citizens receive state-funded public medical care in government hospitals, while private-sector employees and expatriate residents covered under the mandatory health insurance framework (Dhamani) should verify inpatient palliative coverage, prescription limits, and home nursing benefits with their insurer [1].
2. 2

   Record Medical Treatment Preferences and Designate a Healthcare Representative

   • Patient rights under Law on the Practice of the Medical Profession: Healthcare decision-making in Oman is governed by Royal Decree No. 75/2019 Promulgating the Law Regulating the Practice of the Medical Profession and Allied Health Professions, supervised by the Ministry of Health [1]. While the patient retains full mental capacity, their informed consent is required for medical or surgical interventions [1].
   • Documenting clinical preferences and proxy contacts: Active euthanasia and physician-assisted dying are strictly prohibited in the Sultanate of Oman. Although Oman does not have a standalone statutory "living will" registry that overrides clinical judgment, your family member can formally record their care preferences in their hospital medical record at the Ministry of Health while lucid - including pain-relief priorities and naming designated first-degree family representatives authorized to receive confidential clinical disclosures and communicate with the medical team if capacity declines [1].
   • Resuscitation and end-stage clinical protocols: Under Omani clinical governance and Royal Decree No. 75/2019, decisions regarding the withholding of futile cardiopulmonary resuscitation in terminal illness are made by consensus of three specialist physicians (including the treating consultant) and documented in the hospital chart [1].
3. 3

   Execute Notarial Powers of Attorney and Bank Mandates While Capacity Is Intact

   • Notarized Power of Attorney (Tawkil): Under the Omani Civil Transactions Law (Royal Decree No. 29/2013) and the Notary Public Law (Royal Decree No. 40/2003), a Power of Attorney (Tawkil) is valid only if executed while the principal (al-Muwakkil) possesses full mental and legal capacity [2]. Your family member should execute a General Power of Attorney (Tawkil Amm) or Special Power of Attorney (Tawkil Khass) before a Notary Public (Katib al-Adl) under the Supreme Judicial Council [2].
   • Tawtheq electronic portal and bedside notarization: Through the Tawtheq electronic notarization system of the Supreme Judicial Council, applicants can book appointments or, where the principal is hospitalized or housebound due to serious illness but mentally lucid, request an off-site visit (Intiqal Katib al-Adl) so the Notary Public can verify capacity at the hospital bedside or home and attest the Power of Attorney [2].
   • Bank mandates and commercial authority: Commercial banks in Oman regulated by the Central Bank of Oman require explicit banking clauses in a Notary Public Power of Attorney (and often require the account holder to sign the bank's internal mandate forms while capable). Note that under Omani law, a Power of Attorney terminates if the principal loses mental capacity (requiring court guardianship) or at the end of life [2].
4. 4

   Activate Disability, Social Protection, and Caregiver Support Benefits

   • Social Protection Fund (SPF) disability and work-incapacity benefits: Under the Social Protection Law (Royal Decree No. 52/2023), the Social Protection Fund administers the universal Persons with Disabilities Benefit (for Omani citizens with severe or permanent functional disabilities requiring care), the Elderly Benefit, and contributory non-occupational disability pensions (Ma'ash al-Ajz ghayr al-Mihani) when a medical committee certifies permanent incapacity to work [3][4].
   • Ministry of Social Development services: Register eligible functional impairments with the Ministry of Social Development to obtain a Persons with Disabilities Card (Bitaqat Shakhs Dhi I'aqa), assistive medical devices, social care services, and household welfare support [5].
   • Statutory sick leave and patient accompaniment leave: Under the Omani Labour Law (Royal Decree No. 53/2023) and the Social Protection Fund sickness benefit system, employees with certified long-term illness are entitled to extended paid and partial-pay sick leave (up to 182 days under the new framework), and employees caring for a seriously ill spouse or first-degree relative are entitled to statutory patient accompaniment leave (Ijazat Murafaqat Marid) [1][3].
5. 5

   Organize Wills, Civil Status Records, and Property Documents

   • Wills (Wasiya) and Sharia inheritance rules: Under the Omani Personal Status Law (Royal Decree No. 32/97), inheritance for Muslims follows mandatory Sharia fixed shares (Fara'id). While possessing full legal capacity, a Muslim testator may execute and notarize a formal Will (Wasiya) before the Notary Public under the Supreme Judicial Council disposing of up to one-third (1/3) of their net estate to non-heirs or charitable endowments, and recording any outstanding religious or financial debts [2].
   • Wills for non-Muslim expatriate residents: Non-Muslim foreign nationals residing or owning property in Oman should execute a formal will (which can be attested before the Notary Public or their embassy and legalized) specifying the application of the law of their nationality under Omani conflict-of-laws rules [2][7].
   • Consolidating civil and property records: Gather the ill person's original Civil ID / Resident Card and family birth and marriage certificates registered with the Royal Oman Police, real estate title deeds (Mulkiya and Krooki), commercial registrations, and bank account statements [2][6].
   • Cross-border Apostille authentication: Because Oman is a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, any foreign Power of Attorney or civil document needed in Oman (or Omani notarized document needed abroad) should carry an official Apostille from the Foreign Ministry of Oman [7].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Ministry of Health - Healthcare Services and Governance — Ministry of Health - Sultanate of Oman
2. [2]
   Guide to Notary Public Services (Katib al-Adl) - Powers of Attorney and Wills — Supreme Judicial Council - Sultanate of Oman
3. [3]
   Persons with Disabilities Benefit Program — Social Protection Fund (SPF) - Sultanate of Oman
4. [4]
   Elderly Benefit and Social Protection Programs — Social Protection Fund (SPF) - Sultanate of Oman
5. [5]
   Ministry of Social Development - Electronic Services Portal — Ministry of Social Development - Sultanate of Oman
6. [6]
   Civil Status Services - Royal Oman Police — Royal Oman Police (ROP)
7. [7]
   Foreign Ministry of Oman - Consular Attestation and Apostille Services — Foreign Ministry of the Sultanate of Oman