Country guide · 7 min read · Updated October 2026
Hiring in Rwanda: the work permit, the contract and what comes off pay, step by step
How you hire in Rwanda without an entity of your own: the work permit step by step, moving someone already in Rwanda, the contract, the employee test, what comes off pay each month, leave, and what is scheduled.
What does it take to hire a foreign national in Rwanda?
A foreign national needs a work permit from the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration. A role on the occupations in demand list can go to a foreign worker with the skills it needs, for up to three years. Another route is labour market testing, where the vacancy is first advertised to Rwandan nationals. Through Global Kinect EOR, the permit is arranged without an entity of your own.
Follow the steps for a foreign national
A foreign employee needs a work permit from the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration. The steps depend on the route the role takes.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. The route | Check whether the role is on the occupations in demand list. If it is not, the vacancy is advertised on the Rwanda job portal to Rwandan nationals only, for at least two weeks |
| 2. The test | Where no applicant meets the requirements or passes the exam, a written report goes to immigration with a request to recruit a foreigner. Immigration answers within 15 working days |
| 3. The application | Made with the employment contract, certified academic certificates, a recommendation letter from the employer, a detailed CV and a police clearance for the last six months. Where the role went through the test, a plan for transferring the foreign employee's skills to Rwandan nationals goes to immigration too |
| 4. The permit | A skilled worker on the occupations in demand list can hold one for up to three years. A skilled worker sponsored by the employer can hold one for up to two |
| 5. The first month's pay | Pension, maternity leave insurance, community health insurance and income tax are deducted from the first month |
Through Global Kinect EOR, the work permit is arranged where the role needs it.
Move someone who is already in Rwanda
A foreign employee is employed only in the job their residence permit was issued for. When their contract ends or is terminated, the employer tells immigration in writing. A foreign national who moves to a new employer applies for a permit for the new job, with the new contract and a recommendation letter from the new employer.
A Rwandan citizen needs no permit. Their move turns on the notice their current contract sets, which is at least 30 days in writing after a year's service.
Check the role is open to a non-Rwandan
A foreign worker can fill a role on the occupations in demand list, or a role named in an agreement Rwanda has ratified or signed. A foreign worker can also fill a role a labour market test failed to fill with a qualified Rwandan. Immigration can authorise others in the public interest.
Where a regulatory professional body covers the job, it must recognise the foreign worker's licence. The contract sets out the foreign employee's duty to build the skills of Rwandan colleagues.
Set the contract up right
A contract is for a fixed term or open-ended, and written or unwritten. An unwritten contract lasts no more than 90 consecutive days. A foreign employee's contract is always written.
A probation period lasts up to three months. After a written evaluation, and for a valid reason, the employee can be asked to retake it for up to three months more. Where it ends well, the employee is confirmed in writing. Someone re-employed in the same job does not serve probation again.
The working week is 40 hours, with a daily break of an hour and at least 24 hours' rest a week. Overtime is worked on request where the work is urgent, exceptional, seasonal, of a special nature, or needed to keep up productivity. Each hour of overtime earns an hour off within 30 days, or is paid in the next month's pay. Hours worked by day or night, at a weekend or on a public holiday are paid alike.
A woman's contract cannot be ended because she is pregnant.
Know the employee test before you engage a contractor
Rwanda's labour law treats as an employment contract any agreement under which someone works under an employer's authority in return for pay. It can be written or unwritten, and it can be proved by any means.
A role that needs a work permit goes through employer of record.
Know what comes off pay each month
The pension takes 12% of pay, 6% from the employer and 6% from the employee. Maternity leave insurance takes 0.3% from each side. The employer withholds 0.5% of the employee's net pay for community health insurance. Each is paid by the 15th of the next month. A late pension declaration or payment carries 1.5% more for each month it is late.
Income tax is withheld on monthly bands. Nothing is due on the first RWF 60,000. Then 10% is due up to RWF 100,000, 20% up to RWF 200,000 and 30% above it.
Know the leave your people are entitled to
| Leave | What the law gives |
|---|---|
| Annual leave | A day and a half for each month worked, and a working day more each year for every three years' service, up to 21 working days a year. It falls due after twelve months, probation included, and lapses if not asked for within two years. Leave not taken when employment ends is paid |
| Public holidays | On full pay. Work on one earns a day's rest within 30 days |
| Sick leave | Up to 15 days on a doctor's certificate. Longer sickness, confirmed by a committee of three doctors, runs up to six months: three on full salary, then the rest as unpaid suspension |
| Maternity leave | 14 consecutive weeks on full pay, two of which can be taken before the birth. The employer pays it, and RSSB reimburses the last eight weeks. Complications add up to a month of paid leave |
| Premature birth | Leave to the end of the usual nine months of pregnancy, with half the salary from the employer and half from the maternity scheme, then the 14 weeks |
| Paternity leave | Seven consecutive days, and five working days more after complications |
| Circumstantial leave | On full salary: two working days for a civil marriage, seven for the death of a spouse, five for a child, four for a parent or parent-in-law, four for a sibling and three for a grandparent |
End employment on the law's terms
Notice is given in writing, with the reasons. It is at least 15 days in the first year of service and 30 days after. It is not given during probation, while a contract is suspended, or while the employee is on leave. During notice from the employer, the employee has one day off each week to look for work. Where notice is not given in full, the party ending the contract pays compensation for it.
An open-ended contract ends for legitimate reasons. A fixed term ends early by agreement, or for a legitimate reason. Gross misconduct ends a contract without notice, with the grounds notified within 48 hours.
An unfair dismissal costs damages of three to six months' salary. After more than ten years with the employer, damages can reach nine months' net salary.
A termination for economic or technological reasons or for sickness, after at least twelve consecutive months, carries terminal benefits. They are at least two months' average salary under five years' service, and a month more for each further five years, up to seven after 25. They are paid within seven working days.
On leaving, the employee is paid final dues and given a certificate of service. Where it is asked for in writing and not issued within 15 days, a month's salary is owed.
See what is scheduled
| When | What changes |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | The pension contribution rises to 14% of pay |
| 1 January 2028 | The pension contribution rises to 16% of pay |
| 1 January 2029 | The pension contribution rises to 18% of pay |
| 1 January 2030 | The pension contribution rises to 20% of pay |
Each rise is two points, shared equally between employer and employee.
Common questions.
Does a foreign national need a new permit to change employer in Rwanda?
Can someone work for us in Rwanda as a contractor?
How long can a probation period last in Rwanda?
Hiring where you have no entity? Name the country and the role.
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