Jordan is a nation in Western Asia. Its official name is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is located on the East Bank of the Jordan River, at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, in the Levant area. Jordan is bounded to the south and east by Saudi Arabia, to the northeast by Iraq, to the north by Syria, and to the west by the Palestinian West Bank, Israel, and the Dead Sea. To the southwest, it has a 26-kilometer (16-mile) shoreline on the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. Jordan and Egypt are separated by the Gulf of Aqaba. Amman is the capital and biggest city of Jordan, as well as the country's economic, political, and cultural center.
Humans have been present in Jordan since the Paleolithic epoch. At the conclusion of the Bronze Age, three stable kingdoms emerged: Ammon, Moab, and Edom. The Assyrian Empire, Babylonian Empire, Nabataean Kingdom, Persian Empire, Roman Empire, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid Caliphates, and Ottoman Empire were later rulers. Following the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in 1916 during World War I, Britain and France partitioned the Ottoman Empire. The Hashemite, then Emir, Abdullah I, formed the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921, and the emirate became a British protectorate. Jordan established an independent state in 1946, officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan, but it was renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1949 when the nation invaded and annexed the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and lost it to Israel in 1967. Jordan relinquished its claim to the area in 1988, and in 1994, it became the second Arab state to sign a peace deal with Israel. Jordan is an Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation founding member. The sovereign state is a constitutional monarchy, although the king has extensive administrative and legislative authority.
Jordan is a semi-arid nation with a population of 10 million people and an area of 89,342 km2 (34,495 sq mi). It is the eleventh most populated Arab country. The majority, or around 95 percent of the country's population, is Sunni Muslim, with a mostly Arab Christian minority. Jordan has been described as an "oasis of stability" amid the volatile Middle East area. It escaped the unrest that engulfed the area during the Arab Spring in 2010. Jordan has admitted refugees from a number of conflict-torn neighboring nations since 1948. According to a 2015 census, Jordan has an estimated 2.1 million Palestinian and 1.4 million Syrian refugees. Thousands of Christian Iraqis escaping persecution by the Islamic State have also sought safety in the monarchy. While Jordan continues to welcome migrants, the current big inflow from Syria has put significant pressure on the country's resources and infrastructure.
Jordan ranks 102nd on the Human Development Index and is considered an upper-middle-income economy. The Jordanian economy, while being one of the smallest in the area, is appealing to international investors due to its competent workforce. Because of its highly-developed health sector, the country is a popular tourist destination, as well as a medical tourism destination. Nonetheless, a scarcity of natural resources, a massive influx of migrants, and regional unrest have stifled economic progress.
Employees are given 14 to 21 days of paid annual leave each year.
New Year’s Day
Issra-wa-Miraj
Good Friday
Easter Monday
Labor Day
Ramadan
Independence Day
Eid-al-Fitr
Army Day
Eid-al-Adha
Every year, employees are entitled to 14 days of paid sick leave. Sick leave, in general, necessitates a physician's certification. Employees are entitled to an additional 14 days of paid sick leave if they are hospitalized, or half pay if they are not hospitalized but have a medical report.
Ten weeks of paid maternity leave are available to female employees. After delivery, you must take at least six weeks off. She is also entitled to a year of unpaid leave to care for her children.
Employers with more than 20 female employees must provide a nurse and nursery in the workplace at their own expense. Following maternity leave, the employer should give the new mother a one-hour break every year to nurse her child.
Employees who are fathers are entitled to up to three days of paid paternity leave.
Other than the already mentioned terms regarding maternity and paternity leaves, there are no other provisions in the law in Jordan regarding parental leave.
The employment contract may be terminated by either the employer or the employee. It may be ended if all parties agree, the contract has expired, the task has been finished, or the employee has died or become incapacitated, as documented by a medical report.
Employers are exempt from the foregoing restrictions, however, if it is discovered that the employee was hired by another company during any of these breaks. Employers are obligated to provide terminated employees with an end of service certificate that includes the employee's name, job description, and start/end dates of employment.
The party initiating the termination must present the other party with a written termination notice at least 30 days before to the exit date, which cannot be retracted unless all parties agree. The contract shall remain valid and the employee shall be entitled to their salary during this notice period.
Employers who terminate an employee may either exempt the employee from work throughout the notice period or require the employee to work during the notice period except for the final seven days. Regardless of whether the employee is excluded from work or not, the employer is required to pay the employee's wage throughout the notice period.
In certain circumstances, an employee may resign without giving notice and still be entitled to end of service remuneration.
If the employer ends the fixed-term period contract prior to its expiration, or if the employee terminates it for any of the reasons listed above, the employee retains all contractual rights, benefits, and earnings until the termination notice period expires.
The party who initiates the termination must give the other party a written termination notice at least 30 days prior to the exit date, which cannot be retracted unless all parties agree. The contract remains in effect during the termination notice period, and the employee is entitled to their salary during this time.
Jordan's legislator has established a two-year probation period for public employees, during which time the public administration must make a hiring decision.
Employers in Jordan are not required to provide bonuses.
The standard workweek consists of 48 hours spread across five days and eight hours per day. Fridays and Saturdays have traditionally been considered Jordan's official weekends. The total number of work and rest hours per day cannot exceed 11 hours.
Overtime is paid on a percentage of the employee's wage rate and is limited to 30 days per year.
Jordan's compensation laws require all workers to earn a minimum wage of 268 Jordanian dinars per month.
Mandatory benefits postulated by law include a probationary period, pay on annual leaves, public holidays, sick leaves, maternity leave, paternity leave, and overtime pay. Statutory benefits also include social security benefits.
In Jordan, CIT rates are imposed depending on the industry/business activities from which the taxpayer derives revenue. The CIT rates are as follows, according to the income tax law:
For banks, the percentage is 35%.
Telecommunications, insurance and reinsurance businesses, financial intermediation companies (including exchange and financing leasing companies), organizations that produce and distribute energy, and enterprises that engage in mining raw material operations are all imposed a 24 percent tax rate.
Other businesses are subject to a 20 percent tax rate.
Jordanian resident companies are not subject to CIT on their global revenue unless such money is derived from Jordanian deposits and funds, in which case the income is taxed at a rate of 10%. All net revenue earned by overseas branches of Jordanian resident companies is taxed at a set rate of 10%.
Non-resident companies are subject to withholding tax (WHT).
For a taxable income of up to JOD 5,000, the tax rate is set at 5 percent.
For a taxable income of between JOD 5,000 to JOD 10,000, the tax rate is set at 10 percent.
For a taxable income of between JOD 10,000 to JOD 15,000, the tax rate is set at 15 percent.
For a taxable income of between JOD 15,000 to JOD 20,000, the tax rate is set at 20 percent.
For a taxable income of between JOD 20,000 to JOD 1,000,000, the tax rate is set at 25 percent.
For a taxable income over JOD 1,000,000, the tax rate is set at 30 percent.
A general sales tax, comparable to a value-added tax (VAT), is levied at a rate of 16% on the following transactions:
Sales of products, services, or a combination of the two.
Importing any service or products from outside Jordan or from Jordan's free zone regions and marketplaces.
Certain goods are taxed at a higher rate. Export sales of products and services outside Jordan, free zone regions and marketplaces, the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), and development zones are taxed at zero percent.
Bread, water in less than five litres, tea, sugar, gold, money, and electricity are all free from sales tax.
Jordan visa policy details which nations do not need a visa to visit the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and who may enter the country without one. Whether or not a visa is necessary for Jordan, foreign residents must produce a passport valid for at least 6 months beyond the desired stay, with at least 2 blank pages, in order to enter the Kingdom. There is currently no restriction on Jordan visas for nationals of other nations.
Residents of Lebanon and inhabitants of the European Union (excluding Croatia) arriving by direct aircraft to Aqaba Airport may display their national identity cards. The sole exemption is for foreigners travelling from Jordan to Iraq, who must have a round-trip non-refundable ticket.
Currently, nationals of up to ten countries, including citizens of all Gulf Cooperation Council members, may visit Jordan without a visa for periods ranging from one month to three months, depending on their nationality (GCC).
All other foreign residents, in addition to an eVisa, must get a visa before to arrival in Jordan, whether it is a visa on arrival at an immigration booth at the border or an embassy visa from a Jordanian diplomatic post.
The Jordan Pass is a streamlined online tourist package that includes the Jordan electronic visa, which eliminates lengthy waits at Jordanian border crossings for visa on arrival applications. It is also intended to enable for faster entrance into Jordan through Jordanian immigration checkpoints.
To travel to Jordan for reasons other than tourism, a visa must be obtained from the closest Jordanian embassy or consulate. Furthermore, foreign citizens who are not eligible for Jordan visas online, up to around 80 countries, must apply for Jordan visas at Jordan's embassy, regardless of their reason of visit or planned length of stay. Continue reading for more information about Jordan's visa regulations. More than 230 nations, including those who enter the Kingdom via electronic visas, visas on arrival, or embassy visas, need an authorized tourist visa to enter the Kingdom. For anyone planning a tourist trip to Jordan, an accelerated electronic application for Jordan Pass, which enables 140 nations to receive an electronic visa, is now available. The Jordan Pass is a travel package that waives visa costs for tourists visiting at least three nights in Jordan. It also offers free admission to over 40 of Jordan's most popular tourist destinations.
A Jordanian tourist visa may be acquired in just a few minutes using the computerized system, and the application procedure is fast and simple. After completing the application, the applicant will get his Jordan Pass through email, both as a PDF and as a QR code, which he may use to obtain access at immigration checkpoints.
Around 80 nations are unable to apply for Jordanian tourist eVisas and must get embassy visas for tourism in advance from the Jordanian diplomatic post closest to them. More information on Jordan visa policies may be found on their website.
In Jordan, employment contracts must be written in Arabic, with an original copy made for each side. If the employee is a foreigner, a third signed translated copy must be attached to the foreign employee's Arabic contract.
In Jordan, there are two types of contracts. An indefinite contract has a start date but no expiration date, and it does not expire unless the employee's employment is terminated. A fixed-term contract has a beginning and ending date.
Employers that wish to recruit a foreigner must furnish a bank sponsorship that is updated on an annual basis and submit an application to the Ministry of Labour.
There is no set length for assignments. This is usually indicated in the employment contract for fixed-term employments.
Jordanian Dinar (JOD)
Euro (EUR)
United States Dollar (USD)
Pound Sterling (GBP)
You're not alone if you don't know how to set up a Jordan subsidiary. Many businesses attempt to develop without paying attention to the many factors that influence the incorporation process. You should not establish a Jordan subsidiary unless you have thoroughly researched the country's various cities and regions. Then, choose an office building in a location that is welcoming to foreign incorporation and has favorable Jordan subsidiary legislation.
The next step is to choose which sort of subsidiary is most suited to your company's objectives. You may form a general partnership, a limited partnership with shares, or a private shareholding corporation. A limited partnership by shares, often known as a limited liability corporation (LLC), is a popular business structure. This structure is popular because it protects the parent firm while allowing the subsidiary to operate freely in Jordan.
The following stages are involved in forming your subsidiary as an LLC:
1. Introducing the parent company's Articles of Memorandum of Association
2. Completing necessary papers demonstrating that your company has received authorisation from the appropriate authorities
3. Providing a list of the names and nationalities of the board of directors, management board, and shareholders
4. Creating a copy of the power of attorney demonstrating that you allowed a person residing in Jordan to carry out actions.
5. Creating a financial statement for your parent company's most recent fiscal year and having it validated by a competent auditor
6. Filling out an application form
7. Legalizing all papers with the Jordanian embassy or consulate in the parent company's home country.
You must adhere to Jordan's subsidiary laws that apply to your unique structure. Your business may establish as an LLC with a single shareholder, but you must first reach an agreement with the Companies' Registrar Commissioner. Shareholders may be of any nationality, although foreign shareholders must contribute a minimum of $70,650 in share capital. If you are investing in a limited field, you may need to get into a joint venture agreement with a Jordanian partner.
All LLCs must have at least one director, who may be of any country and does not have to be a Jordanian resident. Because LLCs, like resident companies, engage in a diverse variety of operations, you'll need to choose a licensed audit firm to review your yearly financial accounts. Then, by April 30, you must submit them with the Jordanian Companies Registrar.
