Decree No. 0150/PR/MTLCC, of 21 March 2025, which sets new rules governing the employment of foreign nationals in Gabon, has been published in Official Gazette No. 61 BIS, dated 2 April 2025 (publicly released on 29 April 2025).

The decree establishes mandatory quotas for foreign employees in private companies: 

• 10% for executive or managerial positions;
• 15% for supervisory and senior technical staff; and,
• 2% for manual or operational employees.

 
The new statute provides that the local content quota is calculated in relation to the number of Gabonese employees pertaining to company’s workforce in each respective category.
 
Exemptions may be granted by the Minister of Labor for roles requiring high technical expertise, for a period of two years, renewable once, subject to the assignment and training of a Gabonese counterpart.

Renewal of a foreign worker’s authorization is now contingent on at least 80% implementation of the training plan for the designated counterpart. A non-refundable administrative fee of XAF 500,000 applies to all initial and renewal applications.
 
Employers are thus advised to promptly review workforce composition, and define and implement training measures to ensure compliance with the new demanding quotas.