Tunisia work permit and work residence card

The Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment grants foreigners one of two authorisations. The certificate of non-subjection (attestation de non soumission au visa du contrat de travail) covers foreign employers, managers and co-managers with full powers and legal representatives; workers of companies eligible under Investment Law No. 2016-71 of 30 September 2016; staff of companies under the hydrocarbons and mining codes; foreign experts working under cooperation or technical assistance agreements with the Tunisian government; staff of international organisations and associations; and Moroccan nationals.

Everyone else needs an endorsed employment contract. The ministry publishes separate checklists for, among others, foreigners recruited because no Tunisian with the same specialisation exists, spouses of Tunisians, executives beyond the investment-law quota, staff seconded by a parent company or under a partnership with a Tunisian firm, staff of branches holding contracts in Tunisia, sports professionals, hotel staff and tour representatives, people with a Tunisian mother or father, partners and shareholders, and young French and Swiss professionals under bilateral exchange agreements.

For the general case, recruitment because no Tunisian equivalent exists, the employer must obtain from the local Employment and Self-Employment Office (Bureau de l'Emploi et du Travail Indépendant) a certificate that no Tunisian candidate with the same professional qualification is available. The file is then lodged at the regional directorate of vocational training and employment, together with a 'tunisification' plan signed by the regional director and the employer, which sets out how the post will later be filled locally.

Companies under the 2016 Investment Law follow a declaration route instead: they file a declaration of recruitment of a foreign executive and, when they exceed the limit of four foreign executives, a sworn statement giving the number of executives employed.

For a contract visa the ministry typically asks for the employment contract signed by both parties, a copy of the investment declaration issued by APII, ONTT, APIA or CEPEX (or the trader's card), the company's tax registration (VAT code), its latest quarterly social security (CNSS) declaration, a copy of the employee's passport, copies of diplomas or professional references and two TND 5 fiscal stamps. Seconded staff add the secondment letter from the parent company abroad; partners and shareholders add the company statutes and the Central Bank's prior approval of foreign participation.

Renewals are lighter: the new contract, the latest CNSS declaration, a passport copy and the two stamps.

Work authorisation files can be lodged online through the ministry's service for foreigners' files, at the ministry's central mail office (10 Boulevard Ouled Haffouz, Tunis), at the Directorate General for Placement Abroad and Foreign Labour (Avenue de la Liberté, Tunis Belvédère) or at a regional directorate. Labour-market-test cases go to the regional directorate.

With the endorsed contract or the certificate in hand, the worker applies to the National Security services for the residence card. The Ministry of the Interior lists: the endorsed contract or non-subjection certificate, a copy of the company's statutes and their publication in the Official Journal (JORT), proof of accommodation, a copy of a valid passport, four identity photos and the 'visa - residence card' form with 'work' as the purpose. The applicant must have entered Tunisia lawfully. A complete file is decided within one month at most.

Both steps are repeated: the employer renews the contract visa or the non-subjection certificate with the ministry's renewal checklist, and the worker then renews the residence card with the new authorisation.