Expertise
Compliance, Employment & Immigration
Keeping a company in good standing in Iraq: corporate filings and renewals, Labor Law compliance, employment contracts, social security, work permits, residency and security clearances for foreign staff.
A company's standing in Iraq is kept, not granted. Annual filings with the Registrar, trade registry updates, Chamber of Commerce renewals, tax and social security registrations, sectoral licences and the renewal of a foreign branch's registration all have to be done on time and in the right form, or the gap surfaces at the worst moment, usually when a clearance, a payment or a tender is due. We keep that calendar for our clients, carry out the filings, and report on a monthly or quarterly compliance dashboard the client can review at any time.
The Iraqi Labor Law No. 37 of 2015 applies to every employee working in Iraq, Iraqi or foreign, and it is more protective of the employee than many employers expect, in particular on termination, working hours and the limits of fixed-term contracts. We draft employment contracts and internal work regulations that comply with the law, advise on the ratio of Iraqi to foreign staff and the obligations that follow, handle the social security registration and contribution compliance including audits and the regularisation of arrears, and represent employers before the labour courts and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs when a dispute or an inspection fine arises.
For foreign staff the work is the entry visa, the work permit from the Ministry of Labour, the residency from the Directorate of Residence, the security clearances and, in the oil fields, the passes issued by the operators and the security authorities. These procedures change often and are applied differently from one office to another, so we run them through our own staff rather than through intermediaries, and we keep the file current so that renewals do not become emergencies.
Typical matters
- Corporate good standing: annual filings, trade registry updates, Chamber of Commerce renewals, licence renewals
- Employment contracts and internal regulations under Law No. 37 of 2015
- Termination, end-of-service and wage disputes; labour court fines and appeals
- Social security registration, audits, arrears and clearance certificates
- Work permits, residency and security clearances for foreign staff
- Oilfield and site passes
- Standing compliance mandates with periodic reporting