This article looks at the immigration and employment issues that arise when German technical specialists who entered Iraq for short commissioning work are asked to stay on for months of supervision, training and troubleshooting. The original entry arrangements may no longer match the work being done, and Iraqi law assesses an assignment by its actual activities rather than the job title on the travel documents.
The main statutes are the Residency Law No. 76 of 2017, which governs entry, visas and residence of foreigners and is administered by the Directorate of Residency Affairs; the Labour Law No. 37 of 2015, which regulates foreign workers and work permits through the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs; the Income Tax Law No. 113 of 1982; and the Retirement and Social Security for Workers Law No. 18 of 2023. In the Kurdistan Region, separate regional authorities handle residence and work authorisation.
Permission to enter is not permission to work
Entry, residence and employment authorisation answer different questions. A visa allowing entry does not authorise every technical activity, and business visit categories are generally not intended for productive work over an extended period. The applicable category, any work permit requirement and any available exemption should be reviewed before personnel start or extend work.
Approvals are tied to their context. A permission obtained in federal Iraq may not cover work in the Kurdistan Region, and an approval linked to one sponsor or site may not cover a new employer, project or location. The Residency Law also imposes obligations on sponsors and hosts, and violations can lead to fines, deportation and entry bans for the individual, as well as penalties for those who employ or house foreigners unlawfully.
Recognising when the assignment has changed
Duration is one indicator, but the nature of the duties is equally important. Running an operating line every day differs from attending a meeting or carrying out a short inspection. A German employment contract does not determine how Iraqi authorities classify work performed in Iraq.
Before extending an assignment, the parties should establish:
- The actual tasks, workplace and expected length of stay.
- The Iraqi entity hosting the specialist and directing site work.
- Whether the current permit is limited to a particular employer, role or location.
- Which authority must approve a renewal, variation or new application.
This review should happen well before the existing permission expires. A customer’s request to keep the engineer on site is not an immigration approval, and overstaying while an application is informally discussed creates exposure for everyone involved. A live record of expiry dates, submitted applications and conditions should be maintained.
Aligning contracts with the authorised arrangement
The supply contract may describe attendance as incidental commissioning while the site now expects continuous supervision. The revised scope, duration and reporting lines should be documented. The parties should also clarify whether the German company is providing a defined service or whether the specialist is effectively being placed under the customer’s daily direction, as the latter can raise labour supply questions and affect who is treated as employer.
Responsibility for applications, supporting documents, fees and accommodation should be allocated with deadlines and evidence of completion. Private allocation does not remove obligations that Iraqi law imposes directly on the foreign worker, the employer or the sponsor, so copies of valid permits should be kept on file by all parties.
Employment, tax and safety alongside immigration
An extended assignment may also raise payroll, income tax and social security questions under Iraqi law. These do not disappear because the salary is paid in Germany. Under the Labour Law, foreign workers are subject to Iraqi labour standards while working in Iraq, including working hours and occupational safety provisions, and employers must meet their own reporting and registration duties.
The service contract should cover site induction, access restrictions, incident reporting and the specialist’s authority to stop unsafe work. It should also explain what happens if lawful attendance cannot continue: remote support, replacement personnel or a revised programme may be options, but none should be used to disguise an unauthorised local working arrangement.
Planning for replacements and rotations
Many projects rotate specialists every few weeks. Each new arrival needs his or her own approvals, and the fact that a predecessor held a valid permit does not cover a colleague. Rotation plans should be built around realistic processing times, with documentation such as legalised degree certificates and medical tests prepared in advance.
Making mobilisation conditional on valid permissions
Project schedules should include time for approvals and accept that a commercial deadline cannot override immigration controls. If the assignment changes again, it should be reassessed rather than relying indefinitely on the first approval.
Consequences of getting it wrong
Non-compliance can have immediate operational effects. Specialists without valid status may be stopped at checkpoints or at departure, fined, or prevented from returning to Iraq for a period, which can leave a project without critical expertise at the worst moment. Host companies may face penalties for employing or sponsoring foreigners in breach of their status, and inspection findings can delay other permit applications. For the German employer, an incident can also raise duty of care questions under its own employment obligations. Building a simple compliance calendar for every specialist on site, with renewal dates and responsible persons, is a practical way to avoid these outcomes.
Conclusion & how Etihad Law Firm can help
Commissioning work that turns into ongoing supervision is common, and so are the compliance gaps it creates. As Iraq immigration legal counsel for German companies, Etihad Law Firm advises on residence and work permit requirements in federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, reviews assignment and service contracts, and coordinates applications so that German technical teams can continue supporting Iraqi projects on a lawful footing.