New Law to Implement Stricter Quota Requirements, Other Hiring Rules

Mozambique

A new law will clarify the rules regarding the hiring of foreign nationals and will implement stricter requirements related to the foreign worker quota, employment agencies hiring foreign workers and employees transferring to a new location or employer.  The law will be effective November 29, 2016 and does not apply to the oil, gas and mining sectors.

The following are among the key expected changes:

• Employment agencies will no longer be able to assign foreign nationals to a third-party employer and will only be able to hire foreign nationals to work at their own premises;

• All Short Term Work Permits (STWP) will require a government fee. Currently, only STWPs in the oil and gas sectors required a fee;

• Work permits under the Quota Regime and the Authorization Regime now require the foreign national’s academic diploma/certificate, an attestation of equivalence issued by the relevant Mozambican authority and proof that the hiring employer has no national social security debt;

• Foreign nationals will only be able to transfer to a different location or employer if the new location or employer has a foreign national quota;

• There will be new penalties for employers who declare in their annual tax return that they hired Mozambican workers to increase the foreign national quota but who fail to do so, including a fine up to the amount of 10 times the salary of the highest paid foreign worker;

• Employers will be obligated to terminate a foreign national when a Mozambican worker is dismissed to reduce the foreign national quota; and

• Rules and procedures regarding events that trigger the cancellation of work permits will be clarified.

What This Means for Employers and Foreign Nationals

Employers should note the new regulations and should contact their immigration professional to discuss the impact of the changes.

Fragomen will report on further developments as they are available.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].

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