The Namibian Long-Term Work Permit is issued for two years and can be renewed by another two years. There are no separate categories for special skills, extraordinary skills, intra-company transfers, etc; the Long-Term Work Permit covers all of these.
Local Labour Market Testing
There is compulsory Local Labour Market Testing. You must post a job listing in three national Namibian newspapers for two weeks. There are not many national newspapers in Namibia, and IBN Immigration Solutions can help you with this process.
Following that, you need to approach the Department of Labour. They will search their database and say if they can or can’t find somebody for the job. Compared to South Africa, the Namibian Department of Labour is extremely fast and efficient. They also admit that they don’t have everybody on the database or can’t always find local talent.
Documents Required
Let’s focus on the important document requirements:
- Passport
- Passport photo
- Comprehensive CV – you will need at least two refence letters.
- Police clearance certificate – they require a Namibian police clearance certificate, which IBN can assist you in procuring.
- Medical and radiological report
- Application forms
Your Namibian employer will also need to prove they are compliant. They will have to provide a letter of compliance with the Inland Revenue Services, a valid social security certificate, their employment equity compliance certificate, and company registration documents. The hiring company also needs to provide an employment contract.
Namibia also requires a motivation letter from the company, “Why do you want to employ a foreigner? Why can’t you find others?”, this needs to be explained in the letter.
Processing Time and Steps to Approval
Processing is done in Windhoek, Namibia, in their recently upgraded Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration. IBN Immigration Solutions has an office in Windhoek, so submission is made very easy for our clients – they do allow third-party submissions. Our Namibia branch will compile your application, submit it, and collect the outcome.
The current processing time for a Long-Term Work Permit is 8-10 weeks (Short-Term Permits are quicker to process).
The government fees are N$5200 (Namibian dollars), and there is an additional application fee that will be covered by IBN.
Overall Feedback
When compared to South Africa, Namibia requires far more documents. However, systems such as the Labour Market Testing work well.
In general, if the applications are professionally prepared with a strong motivation letter included, these permits are usually quite easily granted.
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Read the original publication at IBN Immigration Solutions.
