Saturday 08 / August / 2026
Oman’s Personal Status Law, issued under Royal Decree 32/97, establishes a legal framework for child custody, governing custodianship conditions, order of entitlement, duration, forfeiture, and visitation rights.
Speaking exclusively to the Times of Oman, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Zadjali, Chairman of Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm, explained that “custody is the preservation, upbringing, and care of a child in a manner that does not conflict with the guardian’s right of guardianship over the child. Every custodian must be of sound mind, an adult, trustworthy, capable of raising, maintaining, and caring for the ward, and free from serious communicable diseases.”
“The law further prescribes gender-specific conditions. A female custodian who is married to a man unrelated to the ward, with whom she has consummated the marriage, loses her right to custody, unless the court determines otherwise in the ward’s interest. Where she professes a different religion from the ward’s father, her custody is forfeited upon the ward completing the age of seven, unless the judge determines otherwise in the ward’s interest. A male custodian must have a woman fit for custodianship and must be a mahram to a female ward,” he noted.
“Custody is a joint parental duty during marriage; upon separation, entitlement passes first to the mother, then the father, then the maternal grandmother, followed by other relatives in a prescribed order.
Male ward custody continues until age of seven, and female ward custody until puberty, unless the court determines otherwise in the ward’s interest. The guardian, distinct from the custodian, retains responsibility for the ward’s affairs, discipline, guidance, and education,” he said.
He added that “custody is forfeited if the general or gender-specific conditions prescribed by the law are breached, if the custodian settles in a country that makes it difficult for the guardian to carry out his duties, or if the right is left unclaimed for one year without excuse.
The new female custodian additionally loses custody by residing with a woman whose custody was previously forfeited for a reason other than physical disability. Custody is restored once the cause of forfeiture ceases.”
“The law guarantees the non-custodial parent the right to visit, host, and accompany the child as determined by the judge,” he concluded.
(Mohammed Ibrahim Law Firm ([email protected]), (+968 244 87 600) was established on 14th December 2006 and is serving clients through its offices in Muscat and Sohar, as well as operating on a request basis in other areas. It offers legal representation across a wide range of practice areas that include Labour Law, Corporate, Commercial, Contracts, Banking and Finance, International Trade, Foreign Investment, Insurance, Maritime Law, Construction and Engineering Contracts, International Arbitration, Intellectual Property and more).
