DUBAI: Oman has seen a more than 65 percent drop in the number of Indian expat workers coming into the country as the ban on foreign labor continues, national daily Times of Oman has reported, citing data from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

The number of Indians seeking work in Oman through the online e-migrate service decreased from 105,513 in 2010 to 36,037 in 2018.

The 65.84 percent drop in Indian migrants comes the Omani government continues in its efforts to employ more locals over expats.

The new Omanisation laws aim to increase the number of locals in the workforce and decrease the dependency on expat labor. Oman has recently introduced a job center that will identify eligible locals to fill in positions that were previously held by foreigners.

The country has also banned expats from working in certain positions in higher education, such as director of admissions and registration department, director of student affairs, director of quality assurance and director of the career guidance department. These efforts helped increase the percentage of Omanis working in the private sector.

National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) data revealed that Indians make up the biggest expat community in Oman, with 662,360 members, of which more than 80 percent work in the construction sector.