Country guide · 7 min read · Updated October 2026
Hiring in Jordan: the work permit, the closed professions and the contract, step by step
How you hire in Jordan without an entity of your own: the work permit step by step, moving someone already in Jordan, the professions closed to non-Jordanians, the contract, the employee test, leave, and what has changed.
What does it take to hire a foreign national in Jordan?
A foreign national needs a work permit from the Ministry of Labour before they are brought in or start work. It is granted only where Jordanian nationals with the skills are not available, and some professions are closed. A medical examination comes first, and residence for work follows. A permit runs for up to a year, or two years in some sectors. Through Global Kinect EOR, each step is arranged without an entity of your own.
Follow the steps for a foreign national
Jordan's Labour Law lets no one bring in or employ a non-Jordanian national without the Ministry of Labour's approval. The work must need skills that Jordanian workers do not have, or not in the numbers needed. The person needs a work permit before they are brought in or start work.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. The role | The profession must be open to non-Jordanians. Engineering, medical, banking and some other specialised roles also need approval first from the body that governs them, such as the Engineers Association or the Central Bank |
| 2. Approval to bring them in | The Ministry of Labour approves bringing the person in from abroad. For a specialised skills role, a committee at the Ministry decides, and the local labour directorate completes the file. For some nationalities, the Ministry of Interior approves too |
| 3. The medical examination | At a Ministry of Health medical centre, with the result recorded in the Ministry of Labour's system. The person must be found fit before the permit is issued |
| 4. The work permit | Issued by the Ministry of Labour, with a signed contract, before the person starts work. It runs for up to a year, or two years in sectors the Minister names. A specialised skills permit runs for two years, a year, six months or three months |
| 5. Residence | A residence permit for work, which the Ministry of Interior approves |
| 6. Social security | The employee is reported to the SSC by the end of the month after joining |
A renewed permit runs from the day the last one ended. Government fees depend on the sector and the profession. Through Global Kinect EOR, the work permit and residence are arranged where the role needs them.
Move someone who is already in Jordan
A non-Jordanian national already working in Jordan changes employer through the labour directorate, which issues a new permit. Their current permit is cancelled there for the move, with the worker and the employer both present.
While the current permit runs, the move needs the current employer's release. In most sectors, someone first brought in from abroad can move during their permit only after six months with the same employer. That move also needs the Ministry's approval.
Once a permit has ended without being cancelled, a move within 60 days needs a clearance from the last employer. After 60 days, no clearance is needed.
Someone already in Jordan who has never held a permit can usually be employed from inside the country, without being brought in. The Ministry lists exceptions, such as anyone whose passport is stamped as not permitted to work.
Check the role is open to a non-Jordanian national
The Minister of Labour sets the professions closed to non-Jordanians, and how many an employer may have. Among the closed professions are clerical and administrative work, including secretarial work and data entry, and sales of every kind. Electrical installation, car repair and security guarding are closed too. So is every role in education except teaching, research and full-time lecturing.
Some other professions are open only with another authority's approval. A teacher in a school or nursery needs the Ministry of Education's, for example.
Each economic sector has its own ratio of non-Jordanian to Jordanian workers. Senior and specialist roles, such as general, financial and HR managers, experts, consultants, engineers and accountants, go through the specialised skills route. That route sits outside the sector ratios.
Set the contract up right
The contract is written in Arabic, in at least two copies, one for each side. An employee who is not a national of an Arab country also gets a copy in another language.
It can be open-ended or for a fixed term. A fixed-term contract ends with its term. If both sides carry on after it, the contract becomes open-ended from the start.
A trial period can last up to three months, on at least the minimum wage. The employer can end it without notice or end of service pay. An employee kept on after it is on an open-ended contract, and the trial counts as service.
Normal hours are up to 8 a day and 48 a week. Friday is the weekly rest day, unless the work needs another.
Know the employee test before you engage a contractor
Jordan's Labour Law treats as a worker anyone who works for a wage, answerable to an employer and under its direction. That includes someone on trial.
A non-Jordanian national needs a work permit before they are brought in or start work. Working for anyone other than the employer named on it breaks the law, unless the Ministry has given permission. So does working in another profession.
Free permits, not tied to one employer, are issued only for day labourers' work in agriculture, construction, loading and housing projects.
A role that needs a work permit goes through employer of record.
Know the leave your people are entitled to
| Leave | What the law gives |
|---|---|
| Annual leave | 14 days a year on full pay, rising to 21 after five continuous years with the same employer. In the first year, in proportion to the time worked. Official holidays, religious holidays and weekly rest days do not count against it |
| Sick leave | 14 days a year on full pay, on a medical report, and 14 more on full pay while in hospital |
| Maternity leave | Ten weeks on full pay, at least six of them after the birth. It is paid through the SSC's maternity insurance |
| Paternity leave | Three days on full pay |
| Nursing | Paid breaks of up to one hour a day in all, for a year after the birth |
| Childcare | Up to a year unpaid, for a woman in an establishment with 10 or more workers |
| Hajj | 14 days on full pay, once, after five continuous years with the employer |
| Study | Four months unpaid, to study at a recognised university, institute or college |
| Accompanying a spouse | Up to two years unpaid, once, to follow a spouse who moves for work |
End employment on the law's terms
An open-ended contract ends on a month's notice in writing, from either side. The employee is paid through the notice. When the employer gives notice, it can release the employee from work during it. It cannot require work in the last seven days.
Where the court finds a dismissal arbitrary, it can order the employee's return to work. Or it can award half a month's wage for each year of service, and at least two months' wages, on top of notice and other dues. The claim is brought within 60 days of the dismissal.
An employee cannot be dismissed or given notice from the 6th month of pregnancy, or during maternity leave.
End of service pay of a month's wage for each year of service applies only to an employee outside social security. When a non-Jordanian national moves to another employer or leaves Jordan for good, their permit is cancelled at the labour directorate. Their residence for work is cancelled through the Ministry of Interior. The SSC is told of any leaver by the end of the next month.
See what has changed, and what is next
| When | What changes |
|---|---|
| 1 August 2024 | A small or medium private establishment can apply to reduce the old age, disability and death contributions paid for a Jordanian national under 30, insured for the first time, by 20% or 40% |
| 1 January 2025 | The minimum wage of JOD 290 a month takes effect, set for 2025 to 2027 |
| 2026 | The wage social security counts is capped at JOD 3,733 a month for the year |
| 31 December 2027 | The minimum wage set for 2025 to 2027 runs to this date |
Common questions.
Does someone moving from another employer in Jordan need a release?
Can someone work for us in Jordan as a contractor?
How long does a work permit last in Jordan?
Hiring where you have no entity? Name the country and the role.
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