New Mandatory Work Permit Category For Skilled Workers Requires High Government Fee

At a Glance:

• The Ministry of Labour in Jordan created a mandatory new work authorization route for highly-skilled foreign workers that requires a higher government fee than regular work permits.
• Employers can hire foreign nationals in skilled professions when there is no qualified Jordanian job seeker available on the labour market. The government has not yet clarified how it will determine this and has not released a list of skilled professions that will be subject to the new process.
• Until there is a list of affected professions, the Ministry of Labour will continue to exercise a high degree of discretion when adjudicating such applications.

The situation

The Ministry of Labour (MOL) in Jordan has issued new regulations that among other changes, create a mandatory new work authorization route for highly-skilled foreign workers.