Work Permits

Syrian refugee workers

  • Recruited worker: A non-Jordanian worker who entered the Kingdom under a contract of employment for the purpose of work.
  • Employed Worker: Non-Jordanian worker inside the Kingdom.
  • Change of sponsor: Transfer of the recruited or employed worker from one employer (sponsor) to another.
  • Unrestricted nationalities: They are nationalities that do not need prior approval for residency, such as Egyptian and Syrian nationals, in addition to Palestinian nationality holders from the Gaza Strip and children of Jordanian women of all nationalities (holders of temporary residence cards).
  • Restricted nationalities: They are nationalities that need prior approval for residency, and include all other Arab nationalities such as holders of Iraqi, Yemeni, Sudanese, Lebanese, Palestinian … etc., in addition to Arab and non-Arab African nationalities and other foreign nationalities.

Procedures for issuing or renewing a work permit

  • Documents required from employers
    1. Request for a work permit for the worker, according to the approved form on paper or electronically.
    2. The original professions license (valid) of the establishment and a copy thereof, or through interconnection.
    3. The original commercial register of the establishment and a copy thereof, or a letter issued by the competent Directorate of Agriculture of the farm, or through interconnection.
    4. A valid professional office license for clinics of non-Jordanian doctors who own private medical clinics. (According to decision 15/2023).
    5. A copy of the projects and tenders referred to the owner of the shop, indicating the party that referred these tenders to him.
    6. Disclosure of the patent of an artesian well for the irrigated lands of the farm, or through interconnection with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. (It was discontinued for renewal transactions only by Circular No. 325/2019).
    7. A statement issued by the Social Security Corporation showing the institution’s participation in social security, or through interconnection. (It was suspended for work permit renewal cases, by Decision No. 10/2024, provided that non-Jordanian workers are subscribed in the name of the same employer and their participation is effective), (for agricultural workers, the employer must have more than 3 workers to submit this statement).
    8. Disclosure of the worker’s coverage when issuing or renewing the flexible work permit with the insurances covered by the provisions of the Social Security Law or through interconnection.
    9. A copy of the employer’s ID, or a public or private power of attorney, and attach a copy of the principal’s ID, and in the case of authorization, bring a bank authorization and attach a copy of the authorized ID.
    10. Security clearance (for tourist establishments or establishments where the number of employees exceeds 30 workers).
    11. Bank or judicial guarantee according to the number of employees stipulated in the instructions.
    12. Documents required from Syrian workers
    13. A personal photo of the worker.
    14. A copy of the service document for the Syrian community issued by the Ministry of Interior.
    15. Medical examination through interconnection with the Ministry of Health.
    16. Certificate of practicing the profession for some professions. (It was suspended for all employees by circular No. 284/2019).
    17. A two-copy employment contract signed by both parties. (It was suspended for all employees by Decree No. 34/2021).
    18. The mechanism of applying for (obtaining employment of Syrian nationality)
    19. To proceed with the procedures for issuing a work permit for a Syrian worker, the profession for which a work permit is required must be among the professions allowed for non-Jordanian workers.
    20. The application for (work permit, temporary work permit, flexible work permit) for the Syrian worker shall be submitted electronically, or on paper through the presence of the employer himself or his authorized person registered in the commercial register, or the entity in whose name the work permit is issued, and otherwise it is necessary to bring a bank authorization whose validity does not exceed a period of one year, or a public agency ratified every five years, or a special agency certified annually by the competent court, and a copy of the identity of the employer is attached or Who represents him.
    21. The approved application (use, renewal, change of sponsor) is filled out, and all the required documents are attached; the issuance or renewal of the flexible work permit for the Syrian worker requires his participation in social security.
    22. The application and documents are checked by the competent employee, and entered into the expatriate labor system, and the application is presented to the head of the department and the manager directly.
    23. In case of disapproval, the applicant will be informed of the reasons for not approving the application and directed to the substitutes from the Jordanian labor.
    24. In case of approval, the worker’s data will be entered into the expatriate labor system, the prescribed fees will be collected, and the work permit will be issued, printed and delivered to the worker directly.
    25. The date of the beginning of the work permit for the Syrian worker who obtains a work permit for the first time depends on the date of the worker’s entry into the Kingdom fixed on the service document of the Syrian community, or the date of the directorate’s approval to grant the work permit to the worker in the absence of the date of the worker’s entry into the Kingdom under proof of residence and borders.
    26. It is allowed to print work permit cards for non-Jordanian workers through any directorate or labor office, regardless of the place or mechanism of submitting the issuance transactions (electronic or paper), provided that the employer or his authorized representative is present to receive the work permit.
    27. Conditions of the delegate or principal (according to decision 42/2023).

Clearance procedures for the worker

  • Required Documents
    1. The original commercial register of the establishment and a copy thereof, or a letter issued by the competent Directorate of Agriculture, or through interconnection.
    2. A copy of the employer’s ID, or a public or private power of attorney, and attach a copy of the principal’s ID, and in the case of authorization, bring a bank authorization and attach a copy of the authorized ID.
    3. A copy of the service document for the Syrian community issued by the Ministry of Interior.
    4. The worker’s work permit.
    5. Mechanism for Conducting Clearance Procedures
    6. The worker’s clearance is made through the electronic system, or on paper through the presence of the worker and the employer or his authorized representative to the Directorate / Office of Labor, and in the case of the process of canceling temporary work permits issued to Syrian workers, it is done in the presence of the employer or his authorized representative and without the need for the presence of the worker.
    7. In the event that the employer or whoever is authorized by the Directorate or the Labor Office reviews the clearance application, attaching the required documents.
    8. The application and documents are checked by the competent employee, and the worker is asked about receiving all his dues from the employer before approving his clearance.
    9. The status of the worker’s permit is adjusted to the expatriate labor system according to his status, and the clearance is introduced on the expatriate labor system.
    10. The worker is given a copy of the submitted application stamped with the stamp of the Directorate / Office of Labor with the clearance.
    11. Fees

Procedures for disbursement of social security benefits

  • Required Documents
      1. A copy of the service document for the Syrian community issued by the Ministry of Interior.
      2. The worker’s work permit, or the clearance if the permit is valid.
      3. An individual statement of the worker issued by the Social Security Institution stamped and signed, or a statement issued by the electronic system of the Social Security Institution.
      4. Mechanism for submitting an application for payment of social security benefits
      5. The transactions of disbursement of social security benefits to Syrian workers are completed through the directorates or labor offices through which the work permit was issued, while the work permits issued through the labor office of the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions are disbursed through the First Amman Labor Directorate. Circular 4/2022
      6. The worker shall visit the Labor Directorate/Office, and fill out the No Objection Application Form for the payment of social security benefits.
      7. If the work permit is valid, the work permit must be canceled and the worker must obtain a clearance from the employer, which is attached to the transaction.
      8. The application and attached documents are checked by the competent employee, and the worker’s social security contribution periods are compared with the work permits issued to the worker.
      9. Syrian workers are allowed to pay social security benefits without having to leave the country.
      10. The Syrian worker shall be granted no objection to the payment of his entitlements from social security, provided that he submits an application to do so within a period not exceeding 3 months from the date of expiry of his work permit, otherwise the full work permit fees are paid for the purposes of granting him no objection, taking into account the application of retroactive effect and fine. If the Syrian worker does not have previous work permits, a full fee for work permits shall be collected retroactively for the entire period of his contribution to social security.
      11. After collecting the fees for the worker’s contribution periods to the guarantee that were not matched by a work permit, if any, the employee enters the data on the expatriate labor system and cancels the valid work permit for the purposes of collecting the social security fee.
      12. A copy of the service document for the Syrian community issued by the Ministry of Interior and the social security statement shall be stamped with a stamp that does not impede the payment of social security entitlements, and the validity of the stamp shall be for a period of (30) days only, and they shall be delivered to the worker.
      13. Non-Jordanian workers are allowed to pay social security benefits to anyone who was covered by the provisions of the Social Security Law and whose work is currently not subject to the provisions of the Social Security Law, according to a letter issued by the Social Security Corporation stating that he is not covered by the provisions of the law.
      14. Fees

Leave Procedures

If the worker is of Syrian nationality, the worker and the employer shall agree on the leave, without referring to the Directorate or Office of Labor.

Conditions of employment and transfer of the worker

  1. It is allowed to transfer workers from one employer to another within any sector or economic activity, from the following categories (non-Jordanian workers of Syrian nationality, where their instructions apply to them, the husband of a Jordanian and the wife of a Jordanian, holders of a temporary Jordanian passport and children of the Gaza Strip, workers in the profession with specialized skills and within the professions of specialized skills). Resolution 38/2022
  2. The professions for which a work permit is required to be obtained or transferred must be among the professions allowed for non-Jordanian workers within the occupational group approved by the Ministry of Labor.
  3. A Syrian worker who holds a work permit or a temporary work permit may transfer from one employer to another employer within any economic sector or activity and in professions permitted to non-Jordanians (except for work in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone), without requesting a clearance, provided that the work permit expires or is canceled by the previous employer or his authorized representative.
  4. The Flexi-Work Permit shall be issued  under the umbrella of cooperative societies approved by the Ministry, the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions or anybody determined by the Minister; A Syrian worker may obtain a Flexi-Work Permit to work for any employer in professions permitted to non-Jordanians within the occupational group and without being restricted to a specific geographical area except for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, and the Flexi-Permit period shall be for a renewable period of one year.
  5. The employer or the entity in whose name the temporary work permit is issued shall be excluded from the percentages, for the purposes of implementing the wage for work project, the intensive labor project, or other projects determined by the Minister, provided that the employer or entity provides the Ministry’s center with a social security statement to verify its compliance with the employment rates of Jordanians in these projects.