Jordan student visa: study visa, annual residence and documents

The Ministry of Interior runs two separate services for students, both reserved for Jordanian educational institutions. The study visa lets an institution request and renew entry visas for foreigners it has admitted. The residence for study lets the same institution apply for and renew the annual residence of foreign students enrolled there. The student follows the process, but the application is filed from the institution's account.

Students whose nationality is exempt under the residence law do not need the study residence, according to the MOI conditions.

The MOI requires the student to be outside Jordan when the institution applies. The institution uploads a copy of the student's passport or travel document valid for at least six months, proof of student status, and, for students who live in a country whose nationality they do not hold, a copy of their residence there valid for at least six months.

Once the approval notice is issued it can be printed from the institution's account and checked on the enquiry screen of MOI e-services; it must be used within the period it states.

After arrival the institution applies for the annual residence for study. It uploads the student's passport with the last entry stamp, proof of student status, the previous residence permit in the case of a renewal, and, for holders of travel documents, a residence of at least six months in the country of departure and return. The approval of the residence must be used within six months of being granted.

Students who stay more than two weeks also have to register their address with the Public Security Directorate, as all foreigners do; the fine for failing to register is JOD 200.

A study visa or study residence is not a work permit. The Ministry of Labour issues work permits to foreigners through their employer, and its rules allow a work permit to be granted to a person who entered Jordan without the intention of working only by decision of its employment committee. Working without a permit leads to deportation, according to a joint MOI and Ministry of Labour statement.