Yemen work visa: contract, approvals and application steps

The portal names three conditions. You need an employment contract. The employment must be approved by the ministry responsible for social affairs and labour or, depending on the case, by the Ministry of Civil Service. And the job must not be one of those that foreigners are barred from under Prime Minister's Resolution No. 270 of 1991. The general entry conditions, including a passport valid for at least 180 days, apply as well.

The documents to upload are a scan of the employment contract, a scan of the ministry approval, the employer's request, the passport data page (valid at least six months) and a health certificate from an official authority stating that you are free of infectious diseases. Your data are entered in the portal's lists and the fee is paid.

The work visa costs USD 100. The portal states that, until an internationally accepted electronic payment method is in place, fees are paid in cash in US dollars, either at the Authority's main centre in Aden through your host in Yemen or through a Yemeni embassy or consulate.

The employer usually prepares the ministry approval before the visa request. Once a complete file reaches the Immigration, Passports and Nationality Authority it is decided within 3–5 working days, and the sticker is issued by a Yemeni embassy or consulate abroad.

Residents who travel abroad and come back use an exit and re-entry visa: USD 75 for a single trip, which requires lawful entry, a passport valid six months and a residence permit valid more than three months, or USD 300 for multiple trips for business and management professions with at least nine months of residence. When leaving for good, the host or employer requests an exit visa (USD 25) and any fines must be settled.

A foreign worker with a valid work permit and a salary sufficient to support them can bring a wife, children under the age of majority and, if the worker is their sole breadwinner, a parent on the special visa for companions (USD 75). Children on this visa are not allowed to work.