Gov’t makes changes to residency rules

AMMAN — An amendment to the Residency and Foreigner Affairs Law will see registration numbers assigned to foreigners coming to Jordan for work and study purposes, a senior government official said on Sunday.

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani said the Council of Ministers on Sunday endorsed major amendments to the law and sent it to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau at the Prime Ministry. 

Amendments to the 1973 law seek to regulate the entry and exit to the Kingdom, according to Momani.

Momani, who is also the government spokesperson, told reporters at a press conference that under the new version of the law, which is yet to be endorsed by Parliament, all foreigners coming to Jordan for work and study purposes will be issued  “personal numbers”, to be used for follow-up with any issue concerning their stay.

The new rules do not apply to tourists. 

In addition, landlords and hoteliers should report, within 48 hours, to the Ministry of Interior or police when they rent their property to or host non-Jordanians.

As for those foreigners who are requested by authorities to leave the country for a specific reason, they are not allowed to come back before six months unless they obtain a permission from the Ministry of Interior, as the amendments stipulate.

The fine for violating regulations of residency — and exceeding the residency permit — is increased from JD1.5 to JD3 per day.

The total number of legal guest workers from various countries is estimated around 900,000 out of two million foreigners of working age living in the Kingdom, according to recent figures issued by the Ministry of Labour.