Bhutan work visa and work permit

Foreign workers must be at least 18. The maximum age is 65 for the professional category, 55 for manual work and 60 for other non-professional categories. The Department of Labour classifies each worker as professional or non-professional and its approval names the worker, the passport number, the employer, the district (Dzongkhag), the work location and the duration of work.

Work permits are issued only to foreigners whose entry visa shows work or employment as the purpose. Visas are not issued to interns or independent volunteers; volunteers of agencies such as JICA or TICA are processed as foreign workers or as officials of international organisations.

The Department of Immigration asks for the Department of Labour approval, the completed work permit application form, the employer and employee undertakings, a copy of the passport with the employment visa, and a medical fitness certificate issued by a government-certified medical officer in Bhutan covering a general health check and a drug test. Foreign workers must undergo this screening under the Immigration Rules.

The worker may only work in the approved occupation, at the approved site and for the employer named in the permit; construction workers must live near the site. Non-professional workers must leave Bhutan for 30 days after three years of work.

The initial work permit fee is Nu. 300; each renewal costs double the previous renewal fee, and the amount stays constant after the fourth renewal. Loss or damage costs Nu. 500. The employment visa itself follows the non-tourist scale, for example Nu. 17,000 for a visa of 91 days to one year, and visa extensions cost Nu. 2,000 to Nu. 5,000.

Late renewal of a permit is fined Nu. 215 per day, and not carrying the permit during an inspection also costs Nu. 215. A cancelled permit can be reinstated by the employer for Nu. 4,300, without charge if requested within a week. Hiring a foreigner without complying with the Immigration Act is a fourth-degree felony for the employer.

The employer must obtain recruitment approval from the Department of Labour at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment before the worker enters Bhutan; the Department of Labour vets qualifications and skills. With that approval the employer applies to the Department of Immigration for the employment visa and then for the work permit at the immigration office responsible for the worksite.

Workers are brought into the interior through the port of entry assigned to their district under the zonation system; for example, workers for Thimphu enter through Phuentsholing and workers for Punakha or Bumthang through Gelephu. The employer and the worker sign a legal contract with the Department of Immigration, and the employer must ensure timely repatriation when the job ends.

Spouses and children under 18 may accompany professional-category workers whose work lasts at least 90 days; they receive dependent permits for the tenure of the worker. After six months of work, professional workers may also invite their parents, parents-in-law and adult children once a year for up to 30 days.

Non-professional and border-town day workers cannot bring dependents. Border-town workers must leave Bhutan daily, and an overnight stay is fined Nu. 1,505.