Maintenance (Nafaqa) in Oman: Types, Assessment, and Enforcement

Maintenance (nafaqa) is a core right governed by the Personal Status Law, Royal Decree 32/97: the wife’s maintenance owed by her husband, the children’s maintenance owed by their father, and the maintenance of needy parents owed by their able children. It covers food, clothing, housing, medical care, and education as the circumstances require. Said Ibrahim Ambusaidi Advocates (SIA), based in Al Khoudh, Muscat, handles maintenance cases — fixing, varying, and enforcing them.

Who is entitled to maintenance, and from whom?

A wife’s maintenance is owed by her husband from the valid contract and her joining him, even if she is wealthy: it is an effect of the marriage, not a function of the wife’s need. It continues during the marriage, and after divorce the maintenance of the woman in her waiting period (idda) is due until that period ends.

Children’s maintenance falls on the father: for a son until he reaches the age of earning capacity, for a daughter until she marries, and for a child unable to earn for as long as that inability lasts. It covers all their needs — food, clothing, housing, education, and medical care. It does not lapse because the parents divorced or quarrelled; the dispute between the spouses does not touch the children’s rights. The law also obliges able children to maintain their needy parents — a duty imposed by law, not a favour.

How is maintenance assessed, and can it change?

Maintenance is assessed by the payer’s means, the recipient’s condition, and the economic circumstances of time and place — there is no fixed tariff. The court examines the payer’s documented income — salary certificates, accounts, business activity — and the recipient’s actual needs: the children’s schools, housing, medical care. Documenting income and expenses is therefore the decisive point in most maintenance cases.

Maintenance can be increased or reduced as circumstances change: a rise in the payer’s income or in the cost of living justifies seeking an increase, and supervening hardship justifies seeking a reduction. Either party may file a separate variation action when circumstances change materially.

How are maintenance judgments enforced against defaulters?

A maintenance judgment is enforced compulsorily under the execution rules of the Law of Civil and Commercial Procedure, Royal Decree 29/2002, under the supervision of the execution judge. The court has effective tools: attachment of the defaulter’s salary and accounts within the limits the law sets, attachment of their other assets, and the coercive measures the law prescribes against those who stall despite ability to pay. Maintenance debts enjoy a preferred position given their subsistence nature.

The legislator has also eased litigation procedures in certain disputes through Royal Decree 125/2020, with simplified circuits and electronic channels for filing and following cases — which has sped up the resolution of many family claims.

Key facts

• Maintenance in Oman is governed by the Personal Status Law RD 32/97 and covers food, clothing, housing, medical care, and education.
• A wife’s maintenance is owed by her husband even if she is wealthy, and continues through the waiting period after divorce.
• Children’s maintenance falls on the father — for sons until earning capacity, for daughters until marriage — and does not lapse due to disputes with the mother.
• Needy parents are entitled to maintenance from their able children.
• Maintenance is assessed by the payer’s means and the recipient’s needs, and may be increased or reduced as circumstances change.
• Maintenance judgments are enforced by salary and asset attachment under the execution judge, per the Law of Civil and Commercial Procedure RD 29/2002.

When to involve a lawyer

Involve a lawyer if the person liable hides their income or stalls enforcement — establishing real income through documents and official inquiries is half the case. Involve one too if you are asked to pay maintenance beyond your means, to present your true financial position and seek a fair assessment or a reduction. Either way, precise drafting of the claims determines what the family will live on for years.

At Said Ibrahim Ambusaidi Advocates (SIA) we handle maintenance cases in all their forms — fixing, increase, and reduction — then enforce them through attachment and follow-up before the execution judge, across Oman. The first consultation is free by phone or WhatsApp on +968 9706 3030. We are based in Al Khoudh, Seeb, Muscat, and work Sunday to Thursday, 9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00, in Arabic and English.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice.