Hiring a foreign employee in Algeria: work permit, visa and employer obligations (2026)

Your company needs a skill it cannot find on the Algerian market, or your parent company wants to second an executive to Algiers. A foreigner may only work in Algeria with a work title issued by the administration and the matching visa. This guide explains who is eligible, which title to request, how to build the file and which obligations follow the hire, for a manager, an HR lead or an agency recruiting on behalf of a client.

Who can be hired: the principle and its limits

Law 81-10 sets a simple rule: employing a foreign worker is only allowed if the position requires a qualification level at least equal to technician and if no national workforce of equivalent qualification is available. In practice the wilaya employment directorate (DEW) checks both conditions against the position, the candidate’s diplomas and, often, a prior search on the local market.

• Positions concerned: engineers, technical and management executives, experts, trainers, specialised technicians. An execution position (agent, worker, administrative clerk) does not qualify for a work title, except under a specific framework set by an international agreement.
• Proof of unavailability: the DEW generally requires that the vacancy was filed with ANEM and that the agency did not present a qualified candidate within the legal period. Keep the vacancy notification and the agency’s answer: they go into the file.
• Diplomas and experience: foreign diplomas are produced as legalised copies, translated into Arabic or French by a sworn translator when written in another language, with the employment certificates proving the required experience.
• Special cases: employees seconded by a foreign company to perform a contract in Algeria fall under the same regime, plus the clauses of the contract’s specifications (share of foreign staff, skills transfer). Bilateral agreements may provide exemptions or facilities for some nationalities: check them before building the file.

Work permit or temporary authorisation: which one to request

Two titles exist, issued by the employment directorate of the wilaya of the workplace on behalf of the ministry in charge of Labour.

The process in 8 steps, from the need to the declaration

1. 1

   Qualify the position and search locally

   Write a job description that shows the required level (technician at least) and the scarce skills. File the vacancy with ANEM (local agency or Wassit) and keep proof of the filing and the answer. This step meets the unavailability condition set by the law.

2. 2

   Sign a conditional contract

   The employment contract states the position, the place, the duration, the pay, and takes effect upon obtaining the work title and the visa. For a seconded employee, the secondment agreement between the two companies completes the contract. Reread our guide fixed-term or permanent contract: the rules of law 90-11 also apply to the foreign employee.

3. 3

   File the title request with the DEW

   The employer files the file with the employment directorate of the wilaya of the workplace: request form, endorsed contract, passport copy, legalised and translated diplomas and certificates, CV, photos, trade register extract and the company’s tax and social certificates, proof of the ANEM search. A stamp duty, set by the finance law, is paid when collecting the title.

4. 4

   Obtain the work visa at the consulate

   The work title (or its accepted filing receipt, depending on the consulate) is sent to the employee, who requests a work or temporary work visa from the Algerian consulate of their country, with the contract, an employer certificate, an accommodation certificate and insurance. The timeline depends on the consulate: allow several weeks.

5. 5

   Welcome and declare the arrival

   On arrival, the host declares the foreigner’s stay to the competent services under law 08-11. If the company houses the employee, that declaration falls to it. Keep copies of the visa and the work title in the personnel file.

6. 6

   Request the residence card

   The holder of a work visa requests a residence card from the wilaya or daïra of their home before the visa expires, with the work permit, the contract, proof of address and civil status documents. The card is issued for a period aligned with the permit and renewed with it.

7. 7

   Declare the employee like an Algerian employee

   CNAS affiliation within 10 days of hiring, information to ANEM of the hire, entry in the staff register, monthly payslip, income tax withheld at source. The rules of Algerian payroll apply without adaptation, except under a bilateral social security agreement for a seconded employee.

8. 8

   Track the deadlines and the end of the contract

   Note the expiry dates of the permit, the visa and the residence card and start renewals at least 2 months ahead. At the end of the contract, the employer informs the DEW of the termination and the employee regularises their stay. A foreigner who keeps working on an expired title exposes the company to the penalties of law 81-10.

The employer’s obligations after the hire

The work title does not close the file. Law 81-10 places several ongoing obligations on the employer, checked by the labour inspectorate and the employment services.

• Employ only foreigners holding a valid title, for the stated position and employer. A signed contract does not replace the permit.
• Declare the movements: hiring, end of contract, change of position or workplace are reported to the employment directorate, within the deadlines it states when the file is lodged.
• Keep the documents available: work title, contract, visa, residence card, CNAS declarations, in the personnel file, open to the labour inspector.
• Honour the title’s terms: declared pay, position held, duration. A substantial change of position requires an update of the title.
• Train the successor when the title was granted with a skills-transfer clause or under a public contract: the renewal depends on it.

Social security and tax: ordinary rules, unless an agreement applies

A foreign employee employed by a company under Algerian law is affiliated to CNAS and contributes like any employee (employee share 9 %, employer share 25 %, plus the 0.5 % of the social works fund). They receive the same benefits: sickness, work accident, pension proportional to their periods. An employee seconded by a foreign company may remain under their home scheme for the period set by the bilateral social security agreement, where one exists (France, Belgium, Tunisia, Romania, among others); without an agreement, CNAS affiliation is mandatory.

On the tax side, the salary paid in Algeria is subject to income tax (IRG) withheld at source under the ordinary scale. An employee present more than 183 days in the year is treated as a tax resident; double-taxation treaties settle the case of pay made from abroad. Have the arrangement validated by a chartered accountant before paying part of the salary outside Algeria: exchange-control rules strictly govern those flows.

The six mistakes that cost money

• Bringing the employee in on a business or tourist visa “while waiting” for the permit: that is work without a title, penalised for the employer and the employee alike, and the work visa will still have to be requested from the home country.
• Hiring a foreigner already in Algeria under another employer’s permit without requesting a new title.
• Filing for an execution position or without proof of the local search: near-certain refusal and several weeks lost.
• Forgetting the residence card after arrival: the employee ends up staying irregularly while their work permit is valid.
• Neglecting renewals: an expired permit makes the work illegal overnight, even if the contract is still running.
• Paying the employee outside Algerian payroll to “simplify”: without CNAS affiliation or tax withholding, the company faces reassessments and the employee loses their social guarantees. Employee rights apply to them as to everyone else.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources