GlobeQuest

Jordan visas and residency

Who can visit Jordan without a visa, and the 4 long-stay routes that let you actually live there.

Short stay

Visiting Jordan, by passport

How the 198 passports we track get in. A visitor entry is never permission to work, study or settle — that is what the routes further down are for.

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Long stay

How you actually move to Jordan

Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Work permit and residence permit (employer-sponsored)

Foreign nationals employed by a Jordanian entity. Two separate authorisations: a Ministry of Labour work permit tied to your employer and occupation, and a residence permit from the Public Security Directorate.

What you need
  • Employment contract with a Jordanian-registered employer
  • The occupation must not appear on the Ministry of Labour's closed-professions list
  • The employer must have room under the sector ratio limiting non-Jordanian staff
  • Attested qualifications and a medical examination, including tests required for residence
  • Application for the residence permit through the Public Security Directorate after entry
How long it lasts
Work permits are issued for one year and renewed annually; the residence permit is matched to the permit.
Path to permanent residence
There is no ordinary settlement route from employment. Jordan grants permanent residence largely through the investment framework, and naturalisation is highly restrictive.
Cost
Work-permit fees vary by sector and nationality and are normally employer-borne. A higher-fee category exists for skilled or scarce expertise where no qualified Jordanian is available — verify the current schedule with the Ministry of Labour, because these fees are revised.
Processing time
Commonly 30–60 days for the work permit, then the residence permit after arrival.
Worth knowing
  • The closed-professions list is the binding constraint and it is updated periodically. Sales roles, most teaching posts, hairdressing, security work and clerical and administrative functions have all appeared on it. If your job title sits on the list, no employer sponsorship fixes it — the answer is simply no.
  • The permit is tied to one employer and one occupation. Changing either requires a new permit, not an amendment.
  • Jordan has no digital nomad or remote-work visa. Remote workers use tourist entry, which is a short stay and not extendable into a residence.
  • Unlike the Gulf, salaries in Jordan are taxed. Income arising in or from Jordan is taxable regardless of where it is paid, at 5% on the first JOD 5,000 of taxable income rising in JOD 5,000 bands to 25%, then 30% above JOD 1,000,000, with an additional 1% national contribution above JOD 200,000. Model a Jordanian offer net, not gross.
Sources:Jordan Ministry of LabourPublic Security Directorate — JordanPwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Jordan, taxes on personal income
InvestmentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Investor residence (and the naturalisation route above it)

Investors putting capital into Jordanian companies, projects or securities. Administered through the Ministry of Investment rather than through an employer.

What you need
  • For the five-year investor residence permit, Jordanian property: JOD 150,000 outside Amman Governorate, JOD 200,000 in Amman when bought from a licensed developer, or JOD 300,000 in Amman when bought from anyone else. The property must be held five years and may not be sold or mortgaged in that time
  • For citizenship, one of the active investment routes — JOD 1.5 million in new shares on the Amman Stock Exchange held five years; JOD 700,000 of paid-up capital in a productive project in Amman or JOD 500,000 in a governorate; JOD 1 million for a new equity stake in a productive project; JOD 3 million in pharmaceutical, medical-equipment or food logistics; JOD 1.5 million in the Amrah City project; or employing 150 Jordanians in Amman or 100 in a governorate
  • The investment and, for job-creation routes, the jobs must be maintained for a defined period
  • Clean criminal record and security clearance
How long it lasts
The investor residence permit is issued for five years and is renewable while the qualifying asset is held.
Path to permanent residence
Yes — this is the practical route to long-term status in Jordan, and at the higher thresholds the framework extends to naturalisation, which is capped at 500 approvals a year. The citizenship routes run through a temporary passport valid three years before full citizenship eligibility.
Cost
Dominated by the qualifying investment. Thresholds differ sharply between Amman and the governorates — investment and property outside Amman qualify at materially lower figures, which is the point of the design.
Processing time
Months, driven by investment approval rather than immigration processing.
Worth knowing
  • The passive routes are gone. Until the Cabinet's overhaul of 2 July 2025 you could qualify by placing a bank deposit or buying Jordanian treasury bonds; both were abolished, along with passive real-estate investment for citizenship purposes, in favour of routes tied to operating businesses and jobs. A great deal of investment-migration marketing still sells the deposit and bond options. They do not exist.
  • The figures above are those set by the Cabinet's amendments of 15 July 2026 and are recent. The Amman Stock Exchange route was raised from JOD 1 million to JOD 1.5 million at that point and the property threshold outside Amman was cut to JOD 150,000, so guidance written even in early 2026 is describing different numbers in both directions. Confirm against the Ministry of Investment's current regulation before committing funds.
  • The job-creation route requires the jobs to be genuine, full-time and held by Jordanian nationals, registered with Social Security for at least a year, and retained for two years after citizenship is granted. It is not a one-off payment.
  • Naturalisation approvals are capped at 500 investors a year, so eligibility and availability are different questions.
  • A residence permit bought with property is not citizenship, and the two sit at very different price points. Conflating them is the most common error in the marketing around this programme.
Sources:Jordan Ministry of InvestmentPublic Security Directorate — JordanPetra (Jordan News Agency) — Jordan revamps citizenship-by-investment schemeJordan News — Cabinet approves amendments to the criteria for granting residency and Jordanian citizenship to investors
FamilyLow confidenceVerified August 2026

Family residence permit

Spouses and children of residence-permit holders, and foreign spouses of Jordanian nationals.

What you need
  • The sponsor's valid residence permit, or Jordanian nationality
  • Attested marriage and birth certificates
  • Proof of accommodation and means of support
  • Medical tests required for residence
How long it lasts
Renewed annually alongside the sponsor's permit.
Path to permanent residence
Spouses of Jordanian citizens have their own long-run route to status, which differs by gender of the Jordanian spouse and is worth taking specific advice on. Dependants of a foreign resident follow the sponsor.
Cost
Per-dependant residence permit fees plus attestation costs incurred abroad.
Processing time
Weeks after the sponsor's permit exists.
Worth knowing
  • A family residence permit does not carry the right to work. A spouse who wants a job needs their own Ministry of Labour work permit and the same closed-professions check applies to them.
  • Jordanian nationality law treats children of Jordanian mothers married to non-Jordanians differently from children of Jordanian fathers. If this describes your family, get advice specific to it rather than a general answer.
Sources:Public Security Directorate — JordanJordan Ministry of Labour
StudentLow confidenceVerified August 2026

Student residence permit

Students at Jordanian universities, and the very large number of people who come to Amman specifically to study Arabic at a language institute.

What you need
  • Enrolment at a recognised Jordanian university or licensed institute, which supports the application
  • Proof of funds and accommodation
  • Medical tests required for residence
  • Residence permit application through the Public Security Directorate
How long it lasts
Issued for the study period and renewed against continued enrolment.
Path to permanent residence
None directly. A graduate wanting to work still needs an employer, a work permit and an occupation that is not closed to foreigners.
Cost
Residence fees plus tuition; language-institute programmes are considerably cheaper than degree study.
Processing time
Weeks, driven by the institution.
Worth knowing
  • Amman's Arabic-language institutes are a genuine and well-established reason people obtain Jordanian residence, and the institutes handle the paperwork routinely — but confirm the institute is licensed to support a residence permit before paying tuition.
  • Student residence does not carry work rights.
Sources:Public Security Directorate — Jordan
On the ground

Where you'd land in Jordan

Amman

A hill city that runs on circle numbers, weekly water deliveries and the region's humanitarian sector.

Full Amman guide

Jordan at a glance

Capital
Amman
Population
11.5M
Languages
Arabic
Currency
JOD