If your company is planning an upcoming expansion into Brunei, an important element of the process will be bringing along employees from abroad to help with the setup and running of the operation. For your employees to work in Brunei, each of them will need work visas.
Applying for Brunei work visas can be a complicated process, with administrative, regulatory, and bureaucratic steps to navigate. If you don’t properly follow the regulations, you could end up with significant and expensive delays to your expansion efforts.
At Horizons, our foreign expansion experts provide an extensive range of Brunei work visa services, immigration support, and outsourcing, to give your company everything it needs to expand into Brunei with the help of a global pool of talent.
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Basic requirements for Brunei work visas
Some of the main standard requirements for anybody applying for a Brunei work visa are:
- Application forms
- Application fees
- Valid passport and passport-sized photos
- Employer’s labor license
- Medical check
- Job offer
- Approval from the Bruneian government (in some cases)
Types of Brunei work visas
There are a number of different visa types to choose from, each with differing requirements and purposes. Some of the most commonly used are:
- Business Visitor Visas (BVV): for short-term business visits such as meetings and conferences
- Lesen Pekerja Asing (LPA): for long-term stays.
- Special Authorization Work Pass (SAWP): for specialized work such as technology and oil.
For most employees, the LPA will be the most suitable work visa for Brunei. The LPA needs to be used in conjunction with an employment pass, or a Green Identity Card for any stats of more than three months.
How to get Brunei work visas
Both you (the employer) and your employees will need to be involved in the Brunei visa application process. You/your employee can initiate the process of applying for an LPA visa. You will also need to register with the government agencies of Tabung Amanah Pekerja and Job Centre Brunei. The Registry of Companies and Business Names has all the necessary advice about the proper procedures for hiring foreigners in Brunei and will request various documents for your prospective employees to submit.
Once the LPA fees have been paid, your application should be processed within a few days, after which your employee should file an application for their employment pass. They will be asked to supply any necessary documents at this stage.
Employment passes generally take a few days to be processed and are valid for two years from the date of issues, although your employees will need a Green Identity Card for stays of longer than three months.
Further considerations
Brunei visas are usually processed relatively quickly, but you should still prepare all the necessary documents and start the process in advance of your move to avoid delays. Adequate time should also be given for any visa renewals.
How can Horizons help?
At Horizons, we help employers of all kinds expand to Brunei, and we are experts in obtaining work visas for foreign employees. Our Brunei work visa experts can give expert advice and bespoke outsourcing solutions to support you through the country’s complicated immigration process. We ensure that you and your workforce are in total compliance with Brunei’s immigration and employment laws, save you time, and give answers to any questions you may have about the visa process.
Additionally, we offer extensive outsourcing services covering recruitment, payroll setup and management, HR, administration, and more to help your business start trading in Brunei as quickly and effectively as possible, even if you don’t have a registered entity in the country.
