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Federal Republic of Somalia · work sponsored

Foreign Worker Work Permit

By · Last reviewed:

Guidance updated 15 November 2026. Full-review date shown above.

Employer-requested Labour permission for foreign employment, with published three-, six- and twelve-month fee options; entry and ICA stay are separate.

Actual employer request and Labour grant before work; ICA stay separateDoes not lead to permanent residencyPublished service options are three, six or twelve months; the actual issued permit controls employment validity. Its duration does not grant entry or extend an ICA stay permit.In flux
Processing time
The employer must request the permit before the employee legally begins work. Confirm the current filing office and any required registration/authorisation sequence; no guaranteed processing time was verified.
Government fees
The federal work-permit service publishes USD 320 for three months, USD 490 for six months and USD 780 for twelve months. Confirm the actual period, exemptions, assessed charge and payment reference with the competent office. Entry, ICA stay, licensing and other charges are separate; no payment or live checkout was tested.
Typical duration
Published service options are three, six or twelve months; the actual issued permit controls employment validity. Its duration does not grant entry or extend an ICA stay permit.
Required support
Actual employer request and Labour grant before work; ICA stay separate
Leads to permanent residency
No
Reviewed Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Federal Republic of Somalia ↗

In short

Employer-requested Labour permission for foreign employment, with published three-, six- and twelve-month fee options; entry and ICA stay are separate. Guidance updated 15 November 2026. Costs, application stages and eligibility conditions are set out with their sources below.

Cite this: https://visaatlas.org/visas/somalia/foreign-worker-work-permit#answer

What is the Foreign Worker Work Permit in Federal Republic of Somalia?

Actual employer request and Labour grant before work; ICA stay separate. Match the actual entry, activity and stay permissions. Indicative government fees are The federal work-permit service publishes USD 320 for three months, USD 490 for six months and USD 780 for twelve months. Confirm the actual period, exemptions, assessed charge and payment reference with the competent office. Entry, ICA stay, licensing and other charges are separate; no payment or live checkout was tested; indicative processing time is The employer must request the permit before the employee legally begins work. Confirm the current filing office and any required registration/authorisation sequence; no guaranteed processing time was verified; typical duration is Published service options are three, six or twelve months; the actual issued permit controls employment validity. Its duration does not grant entry or extend an ICA stay permit. This route does not lead to permanent residence.

Primary guidance checked with Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Federal Republic of Somalia on 15 November 2026.

Overview

The federal work-permit service identifies the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and says the company must request permission for its new foreign employee before lawful work begins. It lists the passport, photo, entry visa, CV, academic qualification, medical report and payment evidence. The public service describes in-person filing and the published duration-based charges. ICA’s own current work-service section does not publish a full checklist, so confirm the exact competent Labour/ICA procedure rather than treating a generic agency heading as the complete process.

Additional sources

Eligibility

Typical criteria

Common blockers

Typical evidence

Application pathway

  1. Check the route fit

    Have the employer confirm the competent Labour process and any registration or prior authorisation.

  2. Build the evidence pack

    Prepare the listed employee and employer evidence and obtain the actual assessed charge.

  3. Submit through the official channel

    Submit through the confirmed current channel and await the actual permission before work.

  4. After approval

    Coordinate ICA stay separately and confirm renewals or changes before expiry or a change of work.

After approval: prepare for your next step

For Foreign Worker Work Permit, use the actual decision and the issuing authority’s instructions to establish what has been granted. A successful application, permission to enter, permission to work and a residence document are not interchangeable.

  1. 1. Check the decision. Confirm the name, passport, status granted, start date and any next action. Resolve an error with the authority before relying on the document for travel or employment.
  2. 2. Establish the travel step. Read any entry window, activation, collection or in-country registration instruction. For an extension or change of status, do not assume leaving the country is required or safe while a further step remains pending.
  3. 3. Confirm what you may do. Agree the lawful start date and onboarding with the employer or sponsor. Check whether the permission names an employer, role or activity before changing the arrangement.
  4. 4. Organise the household. Check each accompanying person’s permission separately, then arrange healthcare, accommodation, access to money and the relevant local registrations. A tax number or bank account does not by itself prove a right to work.
  5. 5. Keep the ongoing conditions visible. Record the actual expiry, renewal process, permitted absences and any duty to report changes. An initial grant does not automatically establish permanent residence or citizenship.
Official Foreign Worker Work Permit instructionsBuild my moving plan for this routeMoving to Somalia

Official application links

Where to actually go next

Government links only

These are the official pages to use for this route. Open them before preparing documents: the forms, fees, appointment systems, and sponsor steps can change without warning.

  1. Official guidanceApplicant + sponsor
    Federal government — Ministry of Labour work permit, employer request and published fee options ↗

    Read the employer request, documents and published fees.

    Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Federal Republic of Somalia · verified

  2. Official guidanceApplicant + sponsor
    Foreign Employment Services — actual employer-registration requirements PDF ↗

    Check the actual employer-registration PDF.

    Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Federal Republic of Somalia · verified

  3. Official guidanceApplicant + sponsor
    Federal government — employee and investor permits of stay ↗

    Check the separate ICA employee stay checklist and obtain its actual grant alongside Labour permission.

    Immigration and Citizenship Agency, Federal Republic of Somalia · verified

  4. Official guidanceApplicant + sponsor
    Foreign Employment Services — resources; several form links remain placeholders ↗

    Obtain actual current forms; do not treat placeholder links as downloaded forms.

    Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Federal Republic of Somalia · verified

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Frequently asked questions

What fees are published?+

The federal work-permit service publishes USD 320 for three months, USD 490 for six months and USD 780 for twelve months. Confirm the actual period, exemptions, assessed charge and payment reference with the competent office. Entry, ICA stay, licensing and other charges are separate; no payment or live checkout was tested.

Can I download every form from the FES resources page?+

No. The employer-registration PDF and a Somali-language employment text are real linked files, but several request, employee, health and manual links inspected were placeholders. Obtain actual current forms and verified office details.

Are the two public legal copies identical?+

The public English foreign-employment translation dated 18 December 2015 and the Somali-language text linked by Foreign Employment Services differ, including some exception, extension and appeal provisions. The latter copy’s enactment and current consolidated status were not established. Obtain the operative law and actual written instructions for renewal, pending-work rights, changes, loss and appeals; do not infer a current deadline or permission to work from an unverified version.

Need tailored advice?

We do not provide legal advice. For an application that depends on your exact circumstances, consult a regulator-listed immigration advisor.

Find a regulated advisor in Somalia

How we verified this

We check every figure on this page against the primary government source, record the date it was last checked, and re-check it on a regular schedule. Rules change, so always confirm time-sensitive details with the official source before you rely on them. Visa Atlas is an information-only publication and does not give legal advice.

Primary source: Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Federal Republic of Somalia

Last checked: 15 November 2026

See the full evidence trail and methodology

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