I. Work Permit for foreign employees
It is a requirement that any employer willing to hire an expatriate is to file with the regional Employment Office a dossier consisting of:
- An application for an expatriate work card [Carte du Travail]
- A copy of the letter of application for the expatriate work card
- An employment contract of its draft form
- CV of the expatriate employer
- Proof or evidence of the professional skills and expertise of the applicant
- Job description
- A list of the company’s expatriate employees
- The training, advance training and professional adjustment programmes.
After submitting the dossier, the expatriate worker must apply for an expatriate work card, upon which the National Commission of Hiring Expatriate Workers will decide. Once the work card is granted, the expatriate worker can obtain a visa for settlement with employment purpose. If granted, the visa is issued for the same duration as the work card [usually 2 years]. In case of termination of the employment contract, the expatriate worker must be repatriated or find another job that would provide proof for holding the work card.
II. Visa for expatriates – foreign employees
As far as the visa is concerned, 2 visas are being issued for expatriate:
- The visa d’etablissement de travail that has a vailidity of 1 or 2 years depending on the validity of the work permit [Carte du Travail]
- A visa d’etablissement de travail specifique that can be delivered for a period not exceeding one year and is not renewable.
It should be noted that like in many African countries, the Congolese labour law promotes the hiring of nationals as the percentage [of the total workforce] of foreign remunerated workers allowed in a company operating in the DRC is fixed by law and may never exceed 15%. There is a regulation that has fixed the maximum authorized percentage of foreign workers, within the limits set out by the labour code, per sector and per category of workers.
