Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
100
Employment
The ability to earn a living is crucial to refugees’ socioeconomic status in a host country. While
the legal framework exists in Jordan to permit most refugees to work legally, few have
successfully obtained permission to do so due to prohibitive costs, regulatory barriers, and
hesitation by employers to sponsor refugees for permits. Instead, many refugees work
informally—often in low-paid, low-skilled jobs—and remain vulnerable to poverty as well as
exploitation by unscrupulous employers.
Under the MoU with UNHCR, the Jordanian government commits to provide access to work to
refugees legally residing in Jordan "whenever the laws and regulations permit."204 The right to
work for refugees is thus not unlimited and is subject to regulation by Jordanian authorities.
Generally, foreign nationals in Jordan must obtain a permit to work legally, and employers of
foreign nationals are required to pay an annual fee. Work permits are valid for one year and
subject to additional fees upon renewal. Moreover, there are restrictions on the type of work
non-nationals can perform.205 As of March 2015, the restricted jobs list specified at least 16
professions, including engineers, teachers, and service and clerical jobs that were closed to
non-nationals.206
For refugees, actually obtaining a work permit is extremely difficult.207 The process to apply
for and renew work permits is lengthy, complex, and expensive. Refugees must provide a copy
of their passport, a certificate of health (which costs JD 20 or USD 28 to obtain), a vocational
training certificate where relevant, and an annual employment contract. In conjunction,
employers must submit their business registration, vocational license, a bank guarantee (to
confirm the employer will be able to fulfill their payment obligations to the worker), and a
form from the Ministry of Labor. Applications for a work permit cost between JD 170 (USD
240) and JD 370 (USD 521).208 Even if refugees are able to assemble the relevant
documentation and obtain the support of an employer, a work permit is not guaranteed.
Applications must be reviewed by both the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Labor.
The costs of obtaining a work permit can be prohibitive for many refugees. Although permit
fees should legally be paid by the employer, in practice businesses often require workers to
cover the fee.209 Along with high costs, the documentation requirements may also prove to be
a barrier, as refugees often travel without identity documents or on fraudulent documents,
and may not have access to vocational certifications or diplomas. Employers also perceive the
application process and documentation requirements to be cumbersome, particularly for the
low-skilled jobs in which many refugees are employed.210
In practice, few refugees have obtained work permits: only 5,700 Syrians had permits as of
June 2015, according to the Ministry of Labor.211 Despite not having access to work permits,
an estimated 52 percent of adult Syrian men are economically active, and as many as 200,000
204 Article 8, Jordan-UNHCR MoU.
205 Access to work for foreigners is regulated under the 1996 Labor Law, Article 12(b).
206 International Labour Organization, Access to work for Syrian refugees in Jordan: A discussion paper on labour and refugee
laws and policies, (Beirut: ILO regional Office for Arab States, 2015),
207 ARDD-Legal Aid, Refugees’ Work Permits Situation in Jordan, (Amman, Jordan: ARDD-Legal Aid, 2011).
208 ILO, Access to work for Syrian refugees in Jordan
209 ILO, Access to work for Syrian refugees in Jordan
210 ILO, Access to work for Syrian refugees in Jordan
211 ILO, Access to work for Syrian refugees in Jordan ; ARDD-Legal Aid, Putting Needs Over Nationalities