Iran taxes employers of ‘unauthorized’ foreign workers $20 daily

According to the General Directorate of Employment of Foreign Nationals under the Iranian Ministry of Labour, the new law which was effected on Tuesday would target firms accepting foreign employees without obtaining State’s approved permits.

A large proportion of Iranian workforce is made up of foreign nationals, people from neighbouring countries, who fled their homes due to war or conflicts followed by economic crisis.

The middle eastern country has seen a significant influx of foreign workers since the 1980s, and its own citizens are uncomfortable with the situation.

Laws established with the aim of  penalizing employers with preferences to foreigners have been lacking in cushioning the effects of these practices on Iranian nationals.

Iranian employers’ over-reliance on ‘unauthorized’ foreign labour has resulted in failure to absorb enough domestic job seekers into the country’s labour force.

Currently, according to Iran Intel, official data reveal that about three million foreign nationals are employed unlawfully in the country, with Afghans making up majority of the foreign employed persons.

Illegally employed number of Afghan citizens in Iran may be as much high as 10 million, doubling even more since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

The surge has ignited debate and controversy, with some media and political figures suggesting that the increase is being caused by certain authorities, thereby posing a potential threat to national security, Iranian media reported.

Anti-Afghan movements in the country has kept gaining pace as the presence of Afghan workers continues to grow day by day, pushing Iranians out of domestic employment.

Iranian citizens continue to mount pressure on the government, demanding for all Afghan nationals to be deported from Iran to reclaim their domestic jobs.