Working in Iraq as a French National: Permits, Salaries, Tax and Social Protection

Iraqi Labour Law no. 37 of 2015 requires all foreign workers to apply for a work permit before starting work, according to the country profile of the International Labour Organization. The foreign workers directorate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs issues these permits; the authorities of the Kurdistan Regional Government also issue them for the region’s “domestic” and “project” workers. The former 1987 labour code treated Arab employees as Iraqis, which exempted them from the permit: this point is therefore specific to the old text.

In practice, it is the employer who initiates the permit and residence permit procedures. A visitor or tourist visa does not allow you to work. Before accepting an assignment, check with the employer the nature of the permit, its duration, the documents to be legalised and the timetable: these points should be confirmed with the ministry, the Iraqi embassy in Paris and, for the Kurdistan region, the regional authorities. Business travellers, journalists and NGO members file their visa application with the Iraqi embassy in Paris (€50 fee, France Diplomatie, the French foreign ministry).

The 2015 law recognises the right to a wage at least equal to the legal minimum; the 1987 code provided for a committee to propose the minimum for an unskilled worker periodically, which the Council of Ministers then sets. In the Kurdistan region, the regional government set the monthly minimum wage of an unskilled worker at IQD 450,000, against IQD 275,000 previously: the regional Minister of Labour recalled this at an ILO event, and a regional government press release presents the decision. The amount applicable to federal Iraq should be confirmed with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs: no official decision was read for this page.

Salary levels for foreign managers and technicians depend on the employer and the sector, and no official salary statistics were used for this page. A contract is compared on the whole package: base salary, currency of payment, housing, transport, security measures and health insurance with repatriation. The exchange rate in the “Economic indicators” block helps with conversion.

The General Commission for Taxes administers income tax under Law no. 113 of 1982 and its amendments. The IMF describes a progressive scale of five rates, 0%, 3%, 5%, 10% and 15%, applied to public and private sector salaries, to professional income and to income from activity; tax on salaries is generally withheld at source by the employer. The IMF recommends reducing the number of rates from five to three, though this reform has not been adopted. The income brackets and the regime applicable to non-residents can be read on the General Commission for Taxes site and should be confirmed with the employer.

The list of tax treaties concluded by France, published in the BOFiP (the French tax administration’s official doctrine), does not mention Iraq. No treaty rule therefore allocates the right to tax between the two states: each one’s domestic law applies, which can lead to double taxation if the employee remains tax-domiciled in France. French tax residence is determined by the criteria of domestic law (home, main place of stay, main professional activity, centre of economic interests); consult the “International” section of the impots.gouv.fr site and the individual tax office, before departure, to deal with French tax on salaries received abroad.

The Council of Representatives adopted on 17 May 2023 a new law on social security for private-sector workers, which replaces Law no. 39 on pensions and social security. According to the ILO, it extends coverage to all workers, including informal workers, the self-employed and family helpers, creates maternity and unemployment benefits for the first time and provides for health insurance with public, cooperative and private providers; it brings the country closer to ILO Convention no. 102, ratified in March 2023.

According to the US Social Security Administration (International Update), the combined contribution rate outside the oil sector rose from 17% to 25% of covered monthly salary: the employee pays 5%, the employer 12%, and the additional 8 points are borne by the State for an Iraqi employee and by the employer for a non-Iraqi employee. A ceiling equal to five times the monthly minimum wage applies, and registration fees target foreign nationals. These figures are summaries of a text that implementation may have clarified; they should be checked with the workers’ social security directorate.

France has no social security agreement with Iraq (CLEISS list; CLEISS is the French Centre for European and International Social Security Liaison): no posting certificate, no totalisation of periods. An employee of a French employer retains, in principle, the French scheme under a secondment outside an agreement; the Urssaf (the French social security contributions collection body) and CLEISS confirm the conditions. See the glossary entries on the posted worker and the local contract.

The independent consultant faces two constraints: a visitor or business visa is not a work permit, and most assignments go through a local entity or a sponsor who carries the permit and the residence permit. The new social security law provides for coverage of self-employed workers; the enrolment arrangements for a foreigner should be confirmed with the competent directorate. Remote work from Iraq for a French employer, for its part, raises the question of the employee’s tax residence and social protection, to be dealt with the employer before any long-term stay. The page digital nomad insurance helps to choose the health contract.

• What work permit is planned, who applies for it and within what timeframe?
• Is the contract local or a secondment, and what social protection results?
• What medical assistance with evacuation does the employer fund, and for which zones?
• What is the place of assignment with regard to the France Diplomatie map (red and orange zones)?
• How will tax be handled in France and in Iraq, without a tax treaty?
• What exit and return formalities (exit visa, three-month waiting period in France) should be planned?

The currency is the Iraqi dinar (IQD). The Central Bank of Iraq sets an official rate on its electronic platform for selling foreign currency, and the market rate may differ from it. The main up-to-date indicators (growth, inflation, unemployment, exchange rate) appear in the “Economic indicators” block.

The outlook depends on public finances and the oil sector, which the IMF follows in its annual reports; long-term assignments are negotiated with the employer, who specifies the place of assignment with regard to the security map described on the page living in Iraq. The guide healthcare reimbursement in Iraq details health cover by status; Expavy compares the suitable assistance and insurance solutions.