The new Regulations on the Mechanisms and Procedures applicable to the Hiring of Expatriates (the “Expat Hiring Regulations”), approved by the Council of Ministers through Decree No. 37/2016, of 31 August 2016, have just been published in the Official Gazette. The new Expat Hiring Regulations shall come into force on 29 November 2016 – i.e., 90 days after the date of publication – and supersede the former Regulations, which had been approved by means of Decree No. 55/2008, of 20 December 2008.
Although no fundamental changes are introduced in the different types of regimes applicable to the hiring of expatriates, the hiring mechanisms and procedures to be observed are now more detailed. Amongst the most salient differences from the previous regulatory framework, the following deserve closer attention in light of their potential practical significance:
- It is now made clear that Private Employment Agencies can only hire expatriates to work at their own premises and that they cannot assign them to a third party;
- There is a new definition of Short Term Work, as well as the inclusion of a detailed list of procedures applicable to the issuance of the relevant work permit, which is now subject to the payment of a fee;
- Work permits under the Quota Regime and the Authorization Regime will only be issued if the employer has no debts to the National Institute of Social Security and when the academic diploma / certificate of the expatriate, alongside with the attestation of equivalence issued by the relevant Mozambican authority, has been submitted;
- Provision is made in relation to the transfer of expatriates, both in terms of transfer to a different work place and in case of a total or partial change of employer;
- Additional penalties are provided for cases where an employer declares to have hired Mozambican workers to increase the expatriate quota but fails to do so;
- There is a new obligation to terminate employment agreements with expatriates when Mozambican workers are dismissed, thus reducing the expatriate quota; and
- Detailed provisions on events triggering the cancellation of work permits and related procedures.
The new Expat Hiring Regulations do not apply to the hiring of expatriates in the oil and gas and the mining sectors, which continues to be governed by specific rules.
If you require a copy and / or an English translation of the new Expat Hiring Regulations and / or a more detailed overview of the same, please contact us: