A BRIEF ON REQUIREMENTS FOR BUSINESS VISA, WORK AND RESIDENCE PERMITS IN TANZANIA

The business visa is issued to prospective investors who intend to visit Tanzania for such purposes as making feasibility studies, establishing professional and business contracts, and making arrangements for investments during the startup period.

The validity of the visa can vary from one month to six months. The fees for the visa are determined administratively, so it is advised that prospective investors consult the appropriate authorities before making application for visas.

The Law imposes penalties on persons who go against the provisions of the Immigration Act. Such penalties include a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

WORK PERMITS.

The Law provides for five classes of Work Permits, depending on the reason for which the same is being sought/applied for.  

                     i.        Class A- Issued to a foreign investor who is self employed

                   ii.        Class B – issued to a non-citizen of a prescribed profession including Medical and health care professional, experts in oil and gas, teachers, and university lecturers in science and mathematics.

                  iii.        Class C - issued to a non-citizen in possession of such other profession

                  iv.        Class D – issued to a non-citizen employed in registered religious and or charitable organization

                    v.        Class E – issued to refugees.

WORK PERMIT CLASS A.

In order for one to be issued with a Work permit Class A, the following documents should be submitted.

i.  Justification Letter                ii.  Application Form TFN 901( 2 Forms)               iii.  Two recent passport size photographs of the Applicant with a Blue back ground               iv.  Photocopy of a valid Passport                 v.  Sectoral approvals (Where applicable)               vi.  Previous work permit (in case of renewal)              vii.  Industrial/business operating license            viii.  Certificate of Tax Identification Number (TIN)               ix.  Certificate of Value Added Tax (Where Applicable)                 x.  Certificate of Incorporation/Business name               xi.  Memorandum and Articles of Association/extract from the Registrar of any other Organization Constitution             xii.  Certificate of Incentive (if any) WORK PERMIT CLASS B, C, AND D. In order for a person to be granted a work permit class B, C or D, the following documents must be submitted to the Labour Commissioner;      i.        Justification letter/covering letter    ii.        Application Form TFN 901 (2 Forms)   iii.        Contract of employment or engagement as the case may be – signed by relevant parties.   iv.        Job or engagement description     v.        Curriculum Vitae   vi.        Two recent Size photographs of the Applicant  vii.        Accreditation certificate, if any, from respective professional entity viii.        Academic/professional certificates   ix.        Photocopy of a valid passport     x.        Previous work permit   xi.        Industrial/ operating/business license xii.        Memorandum and Articles of Association xiii.        Succession plan (for renewals) xiv.        Letter of no objection (if any) from previous employer  xv.        Sectoral approvals – where applicable xvi.        Certificate of incentive (if any) The Law has given power to the Labour Commissioner to cancel the work permit issued in the event that the holder of the said permit fails to comply with conditions as prescribed in the permit, fails to engage in the position for which the permit was issued, misrepresents any information during application or if in his opinion, the presence of such work permit holder in Tanzania jeopardizes public interest. Further, the Law provides for penalties in the event that a person is found to have committed an offence under the non-citizens (employment regulations) of 2015. The said penalty for offences such as submitting forged documents, presenting false information and contravening any other condition attached to the work permit is a fine of not less than ten Million Tanzanian Shillings or imprisonment for a period of not less than twelve months or both imprisonment and fine. RESIDENCE PERMITS. Documents to be submitted for residence permits are similar to those to be submitted for Work Permits. TIME FRAME. The length of time it takes to obtain a Work Permit and a Resident permit varies greatly. There are instances when it has taken two to three months for the Ministry of Works to issue Work Permits.   FEES. The Fees vary depending on the type of Work Permit and Residence Permit applied for.   fees for residence permits Work permit processing fees CONSLUSION. The Law has given power to the Labour Commissioner to cancel Work Permits if in his opinion the presence of such person in Tanzania jeopardizes public interest. Therefore all Applicants should have this in mind and therefore reside and work in Tanzania in a manner that will not attract and negative attention in order to avoid cancellation of their issued permits.

Termination of Employment for Operational Requirements in Tanzania - Procedure to be followed.

In my years of practicing as an Advocate, I have represented a number of Clients in Complaints for unfair termination, filed against them by former employees.

In recent months, many Companies in Tanzania have undertaken to reduce their work force due to different economic factors.

It is very important (I can't stress this enough) that Companies intending to terminate their employees based on operational requirements follow all the procedure as provided under the Law.

In Tanzania, Termination can be unfair if the reason for such termination is not sufficient, and or the procedure set down by Law has not been followed.

Regardless of how genuine the reason for terminating an employee is, regardless of how gross the misconduct, the procedure  as set out by Law should be followed. Failure to follow such procedure will result in, should the employee file a Complaint at the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration, the Employer being ordered either to reinstate the Employee, re- engage the employee, or compensate the said employee. Compensation for unfair termination has been pegged at an equivalent of 12 months of the employee's salary.

Today, I will concentrate on the procedure to be followed where an Employer intends to terminate employees based on operational requirements.

Section 38 of the Employment and Labour Relations Act [Act No. 6 of 2004]; outlines the following procedure to be followed by an employer that intends to terminate employees for operational requirements:-

a.    The employer shall give a notice of the intention to terminate employees as soon as such termination is contemplated.

b.   The employer is to disclose all information on the intended retrenchment for the purpose of proper consultation.

c.    The employer is to consult with employees prior to retrenchment or redundancy on the reasons for the intended termination, any measure to avoid or minimize the intended retrenchment, the method of selection of the employees to be retrenched, the timing of the retrenchments and severance pay in respect of the retrenchments.

d.   The employer is to give such notice, make disclosure and consult with:-any trade unions, any registered trade union with members in the work place not represented by a recognized trade union and any employees not represented by a recognized or registered trade union.

Upon conclusion of consultation, if the employer and the employees to be retrenched reach consensus and all terms for such retrenchment are agreed, an Agreement is reached between the employer and such employees. Such Agreement is called a “retrenchment agreement” which shall contain information such as reasons for the intended termination, the method of selecting employees to be retrenched (eg. Last in first out, first in first out), as well as severance pay to be paid to employees to be terminated.

In the event that an agreement is not reached between the parties during such consultation, the Law has made it mandatory to refer the Matter for Mediation at the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration. Once the Matter has been referred to Mediation, the Employer is not allowed to implement the retrenchment within thirty days of the referral to mediation unless otherwise agreed between the parties. Once this period passes, the employer can proceed with the retrenchment unilaterally.

If the Consultation is successful, the employer shall proceed to enter into a Retrenchment Agreement with the employees to be retrenched, and thereafter, issue them with termination letters. Upon termination, the retrenched employees shall be entitled to all terminal benefits such as severance pay, notice pay, remuneration for work done before retrenchment and certificate of service.

Important things to Note:            

1.   A Notice has to be sent to employees informing them of the intention to retrench.

2. Such Notice should clearly state that the Employer intends to Consult with employees, together with representatives from their trade Union (if any); the Notice should be clear and precise, and if possible communicate a date when such consultations shall take place.

3. During any consultation, clear minutes should be recorded, and all attendees should sign attendance registers to ensure that clear records are kept of all the attendees of such meetings.

4. During consultation, it is mandatory to address the issue at hand, that retrenchment has to take place, explain the reasons why, explain the criteria you have based on to select the employees to be retrenched.

5.   It should also be made clear during such consultation that employees shall be paid all their dues including Severance pay, leave pay, leave accrued but not taken, remuneration for work done before termination and certificate of service.

6. If employees do not agree with the criteria used to identify employees to be terminated, employer shall ensure that the criteria used is fair and objective, and does not infringe any right of the employees that is legally protected.  Such unfair criteria may include pregnancy,  membership in trade unions or any other discriminatory ground.

Documents Checklist:

In order to avoid being ordered to compensate employees for unfair termination after retrenchments, aside from following the procedure explained above, it is important to ensure that at the end of the retrenchment process the employer is in possession of the following documents:

•                    General Notice to all employee
• 
  
•            Retrenchment Agreement – to be entered into upon successful completion of consultation
• 
  
•        Invitation to consultation to affected employees as well as their representatives from the trade union they belong to – if any

•           Retrenchment Agreement – to be entered into upon successful completion of consultation
•          Termination Letters. 

Should all the above procedures be followed, an Employer shall be in the best position to avoid any legal action by the Employer for unfair termination, and should the employees decide to refer the Matter to the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration, even after ensuring that all the above outlined procedure was followed, it shall be highly unlikely for them to succeed in any claim for unfair termination.

I hope that the above outline will be helpful. 

Should you need any further assistance or clarification, do not hesitate to email us, or leave a comment with your question and we shall respond accordingly.

That's all for today,

See you next time!!