Work Permits

Special for migrant workers in Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs)

Terms

  • 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.

Terms

  • 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

A.Documents required from employers

 12.A letter from Jordan Investment Board or the company that includes the names and professions of the workers and copies of the passports to be recruited or employed.

 13. Industrial registration certificate.

 14. Request for a work permit for the worker, according to the approved form on paper or electronically.

 15. Approval of the Employment and Recruitment Committee – Ministry of Labor, on recruitment applications or through interconnection.

 16. The approval of the Ministry of Interior or through interconnection (except in the case of renewal of work permits for workers whose passport is valid for at least six months).

 17. The original commercial register of the establishment and a copy thereof, or through interconnection.

 18. The original professions license (valid) of the establishment and a copy thereof, or through interconnection.

 19. 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 same name as the employer and their participation is effective).

 20. 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.

 21. Security clearance of the commissioner (for establishments where the number of employees exceeds 30 workers).

 22. Bank or judicial guarantee according to the number of employees stipulated in the instructions.

B.Documents required of workers

 10. Certificate of non-conviction of the worker for recruitment purposes. (It was suspended for all workers by Decree No. 14/2022, except for domestic workers and Egyptian workers).

 11. A copy of the worker’s CV in case of recruitment or first employment, if he is a worker from the specialized professions.

 12. Official paper or electronic recommendation from the competent authorities if necessary, if he is a worker from the specialized professions.

 13. Certificate of practicing the profession for some professions. (It was suspended for all employees by circular No. 284/2019).

 14. A personal photo of the worker.

 15. Medical examination through interconnection with the Ministry of Health.

 16. The worker’s passport is valid for at least one year and a copy of it includes the stamp of the date of the worker’s entry into the territory of the Kingdom.

 17. Determine accommodation for workers of all nationalities from security centers. (It was suspended for all employees by Decree No. 34/2021).

 18. A two-copy employment contract signed by both parties. (It was suspended for all employees by Decree No. 34/2021).

(In the case of recruitment, the Directorate of Labor is provided with documents No. 15-20  after the worker enters the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan).

C.Mechanism for submitting an application (obtaining employment in QIZ areas)

 10. To proceed with the procedures for issuing or renewing a work permit, it shall be done through the electronic expatriate labor system, or in the presence of the employer himself to the Investment Service Unit or the presence of his authorized representative registered in the commercial register, his principal or the authorized person who has a bank authorization; Who represents him.

 11.The approved application (recruitment, employment, change of sponsor, renewal) is filled out, and all required documents are attached.

 12. A list of all applications (employment, recruitment and change of sponsor) for investment companies in the qualified industrial zones is prepared to be presented to the Commissioner of His Excellency the Minister of Labor in the Investment Authority submitted by investment companies in the qualified industrial zones.

 13.In the event that applications (recruitment, employment, change of sponsor) are approved and entered into the expatriate labor system, and a letter is sent to the Ministry of Interior through the Commissioner of the Minister of Labor for Investment Affairs containing a request for an opinion on the subject of the company’s application, or through interconnection;

 14. In the event that the Ministry of Interior approves the request (recruitment, employment or change of sponsor), the employer or his authorized representative will be directed to the concerned labor directorate, to complete the documents and pay the work permit fees.

 15. The concerned employee checks the documents or reviews the interconnection, enters the names of the workers on the expatriate labor system, and collects work permit fees.

 16.In cases of (employment, change of sponsor, and renewal), the work permit is issued and printed to the worker immediately after collecting the fees, and a letter is sent to the Ministry of Interior with the letter of payment of the prescribed fees issued by the Ministry of Labor for the purposes of renewing the residency, or through interconnection.

 17. In the case of recruitment, the work permit is issued without printing it, and the prescribed fees are collected through electronic payment, and the employer or his authorized person reviews the Ministry of Interior to provide it with a letter of payment of the prescribed fees issued by the Ministry of Labor or through interconnection, in order to obtain the visa and approve the worker’s entry into the Kingdom.

 18.In the case of recruitment, after the worker comes to the Kingdom, he visits an accredited government health center for the purposes of issuing a medical examination, and the employer or his authorized representative completes the documents at the concerned labor directorate, and updates the worker’s data on the expatriate labor system according to the date of the worker’s entry into the country, receives the work permit, and stamps the worker’s passport;

D.Conditions of the Commissioner or Principal

Any recruitment, employment, change of employer or renewal of a work permit transaction shall be conducted by the following persons:

 10.Employer personally.

 11. A non-Jordanian client in a private judicial agency must have a valid work permit and his power of attorney must not conflict with his work permit, with the exception of (clients who are children of Jordanian women who hold an identification card issued by the Civil Status).

 12. The person authorized in the commercial register of the establishment must be a Jordanian national and hold the national number, and in the event that he is a non-Jordanian national, he must be the owner of the facility, a partner in it, or a child of Jordanian women who hold an identification card, or he must have a work permit duly and in a manner that does not conflict with his authorization in the commercial register.

 13.The authorization must be certified by the bank for a period not exceeding one year, and that the (commissioner) is a Jordanian national and holds the national number, or one of the children of Jordanian women who hold an identification card, or that he holds a valid work permit in a profession that does not conflict with his authorization, and that the commissioner is subject to social security with the same employer, or to one of the establishments owned by the same owner. Work or partner therein, keeping a copy of his identity after checking it.

 14. Lawyers authorized by authorization approved by the Bank, without requiring their participation in the social security of operating foreign companies, operating foreign companies (regional offices) and branches of foreign associations registered in the Register of Associations.

 15. Lawyers who have private power of attorney, provided that they pay a demonstration fee, provided that the lawyer is not a representative of more than (5) establishments.

 16. The (commissioner) may not be authorized for more than one employer in all economic sectors and activities, with the exception of the authorized under a general judicial power of attorney, and lawyers who have judicial powers of attorney certified before the notary public, and indicating their power of attorney to review the Ministry of Labor, provided that the lawyer is not a representative of more than (5) establishments, while allowing the commissioner to be authorized under a special judicial power of attorney for more than one employer if he is authorized between his ascendants or branches.

  1. A commissioner over sixty years of age is not required to participate in social security.
  2. Commissioner Security Clearance Requirement

Security clearance is required in the following cases:

  1. Tourist facilities (hotels, tourist restaurants, nightclub, nightclub, disco, bar).
  2. Offices engaged in the recruitment of non-Jordanians working in domestic workers.
  3. Establishments with more than (30) non-Jordanian workers.
  4. Lawyers with power of attorney for employers or bank authorization are excluded from presenting security clearance.
  5. Required Guarantee Value
  6. The employer shall submit a judicial or bank guarantee of (300) dinars for each worker of the restricted nationalities.
  7. The employer shall be exempted from submitting a bank guarantee if he is subject to the Golden List and achieves a total of (80-100%) of the marks of the Golden List criteria in his establishment, but if he achieves a mark less than (80%) he becomes outside the Golden List and submits a bank guarantee for a period of one year automatically renewed, as follows:
    • (30,000) JOD for ( 1-100) workers.
    • (50,000) dinars for (101-200 ) workers.
    • (75,000) JOD for (201-500 ) workers.
    • (100,000) dinars for (501-1000 ) workers.
    • (125,000) JOD for (1001 – 2000) workers.
    • (150,000) JOD in the case of (more than 2000) workers.
  • Fees, Additional Charges and Fines
  1. The Ministry of Labour shall collect the fee for issuing or renewing a work permit for one year or part of the year and additional fees as follows:
  • (300) dinars for each worker in the clothing and knitting industry sector registered with the Investment Authority in the Development Zones.
  • (2,220) JD for each worker with specialized skills, one year permit.
  • (1,320) dinars for each worker with specialized skills, a permit for six months.
  • (715) dinars for each worker with specialized skills, permit for three months.
  1. A delay fine of (50%) of the value of the work permit fee shall be collected from the employer in the event that the work permit expires and is not renewed within 90 days from the date of expiry, with the exception of the employer who is exempted from paying the work permit fees and additional amounts.

Replacement Procedure

  1. Required Documents
  2. A copy of the establishment’s recent commercial register, or through interconnection.
  3. 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.
  4. A recent letter from the Residence and Borders Department proving that both the original and alternative workers have not entered the Kingdom, and that (24) hours have not elapsed since the date of this book, or through interconnection.
  5. A copy of the original and substitute worker’s passports, valid for at least one year.
  6. Non-conviction certificate for the substitute worker. (It was suspended for all workers by Decree No. 14/2022, except for domestic workers and Egyptian workers).
  7. A copy of the worker’s CV in case of recruitment or first employment, if he is a worker from the specialized professions.
  8. Official paper or electronic recommendation from the competent authorities if necessary, if he is a worker from the specialized professions.
  9. Addressing the Ministry of Interior with a letter regarding the new alternative worker, and not allowing the entry of the original worker, or through interconnection.
  10. The approval of the Ministry of Interior to allow the entry of the substitute worker to the Kingdom, or through interconnection.
  11. Mechanism for submitting a replacement application (for workers of restricted nationality)
  12. To proceed with the procedures, the replacement must be for the worker of the restricted nationalities within a period of 4 months from the date of approval of the Recruitment and Employment Committee, and the replacement must be made with a worker of the same nationality, and the replacement request can be submitted more than once.
  13. The employer or his authorized representative shall review the Directorate / Office of Labor and fill out the replacement application or through the electronic system, attaching all the required documents, including a recent letter of residence and borders, including ensuring that the original and substitute recruited worker does not enter the Kingdom, canceling the visa for the original worker, or verifying the interconnection.
  14. The application and documents are checked by the competent employee, and the replacement worker’s data is entered on the expatriate labor system during the legal period of replacement, or through the electronic system.
  15. The replacement fees for the worker of the restricted nationality shall be collected through electronic payment, and the employer or his authorized representative shall be granted a letter of payment of fees addressed to the Ministry of Interior, or through interconnection.
  16. Fees
  • The Ministry shall collect (100) one hundred dinars instead of replacing the recruitment of a worker who did not enter the Kingdom with another worker before issuing a work permit to him.

Clearance procedures for the worker

  1. Required Documents
  2. The original commercial register of the establishment and a copy thereof, or through interconnection.
  3. 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.
  4. The worker’s passport and a copy thereof.
  5. The worker’s work permit.
  6. Mechanism for Conducting Clearance Procedures
  7. The worker’s clearance is conducted through the electronic system, or on paper through the presence of the worker and the employer or his authorized representative to the Directorate / Labor Office.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. The worker’s passport shall be stamped with the clearance stamp, and the worker shall be given a copy of the submitted application stamped with the stamp of the Directorate / Office of Labor with the clearance of the liability.
  12. Fees
  • No fees are charged for this service.

Payment of social security benefits and final departure

  1. Required Documents
  2. The worker’s passport and a copy thereof.
  3. The worker’s work permit, or the clearance if the permit is valid.
  4. 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.
  5. Mechanism for submitting an application for payment of social security benefits
  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. The non-Jordanian worker shall be granted no objection to the payment of his social security entitlements due to his desire to leave the country permanently, if he submits the application within a period not exceeding 3 months from the date of expiry of his work permit, otherwise a full fee is paid for the work permit for the purposes of granting him no objection, taking into account the application of retroactive effect and fine. If the worker does not have previous work permits, the fees for work permits are collected retroactively for the entire period of his contribution to social security.
  10. 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.
  11. The worker’s passport and 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.
  12. After the worker receives his social security benefits, he must leave the country within a period of 3 months from the expiry of his work permit.
  13. Non-Jordanian workers are allowed to pay social security benefits according to the procedures in force for the following categories without requiring them to leave the country (holders of temporary Jordanian passports, workers of Syrian and Iraqi nationality, children of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians, non-Jordanian workers from the husbands of Jordanian women and wives of Jordanians).
  14. 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.
  15. It is allowed to cancel the departure of a non-Jordanian worker who has a No Objection stamp from withdrawing social security entitlements, for the purposes of issuing a work permit for him, provided that he has not paid his social security benefits in advance, or left the country after the date of obtaining his entitlements, or has not obtained a no-objection stamp from withdrawing social security benefits in the periods, from 22/9/2019 to 30/1/2020, from 31/ 5/2020 to 31/5/2021, from 4/7/2021 to 9/9/2021). (According to decision 68/2022).
  16. Fees
  • A full permit fee and a fine are collected for the periods of the worker’s contribution to social security that are not matched by a work permit.
  • In the event that the worker has had social security contributions since 2003 and before, and did not meet with a work permit, a work permit fee of (100) dinars is collected only for each of these years.
  • (10) ten dinars shall be collected instead of issuing a no-objection policy for the purposes of disbursing social security entitlements to non-Jordanian workers.

Leave Procedures

If the worker is of restricted nationalities, an agreement shall be made between the worker and the employer on the leave, without referring to the Directorate or Labor Office, provided that the work permit is valid during the period of the leave, and the worker’s return to the Kingdom before the expiry of the work permit.

Procedure for reporting worker absconding

A.Required Documents

 6. The original commercial register of the establishment and a copy thereof.

 7. 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.

 8. Notification of the absconding submitted to any of the police directorates or security centers.

  1. A copy of the worker’s passport.
  2. A copy of a valid work permit.
  3. Mechanism for Reporting Escape
  4. The employer or his authorized representative shall fill out the absconding report form for a worker, attach the required documents, and sign it.
  5. The application and documents are checked by the competent employee, and the case of absconding is duly fixed on the expatriate labor system.
  6. The absconding case is only canceled under the agreement of both the worker and the employer in accordance with (according to the formula available in the Directorate / Office of Labor) and through the concerned directorate to which the establishment belongs.
  7. Fees
  • No fees are charged for this service.

Conditions of employment and transfer of the worker

 8.The sector of workers in the clothing and knitting sector in the development zones (QIZ) is a closed sector, and the worker is not allowed to transfer from it to any other economic sector, or to transfer to it from any other economic sector or activity, but it allows the worker to move from one employer to another employer within the same sector.

 9.The transfer of the worker from the Aqaba Special Economic Zone to work for the same employer or a new employer is allowed, provided that his file is paid to the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, and in the event that the worker’s previous occupation is one of the professions with specialized skills, the transfer is made to work within the specialized skills professions.

 10.A non-Jordanian worker whose work permit has expired with the employer must obtain a clearance for the purposes of transferring to another employer within the same sector, economic activity, sectors or economic activities from which the transfer is permitted, and in the event that the permit is canceled, the worker is transferred to another employer without the need for a clearance.

 11.The employer is allowed to cancel the work permit of the non-Jordanian worker he employs without requiring the presence of the non-Jordanian worker, in the following cases:

In the event of the death of the non-Jordanian worker, provided that a duly certified death certificate is presented.

 B.In the event that the worker leaves the country (exit and return) and the expiry of the period while he is outside the country and the employer does not wish to extend the exit and re-entry permit, provided that a proof of departure document issued by the Residence and Borders Department is presented.

 C.In the event that the non-Jordanian worker of the restricted nationalities leaves and the period allowed to stay outside the country expires, and he does not return, provided that his file is paid to the Residency and Borders Department and that he brings proof of this according to a duly signed and stamped document from the Residency and Borders Department.

 D.In the event that a deportation decision is issued against him by the Ministry due to his refusal to work for the employer and his failure to obtain a final departure for non-Jordanian workers of Egyptian nationality.

 12.First-time use is not allowed for any person of nationality (Yemeni, Pakistani, Bengali, Indian) who entered the country without intending to work.

 13. First-time use is not allowed for any foreigner whose passport is stamped (not authorized to work).

 14. Non-Jordanian students who are on university seats are not allowed to be granted work permits.