The federal government has imposed an Expatriate Employment Levy (EEL) on employers who hire foreign workers.
Such companies must pay $15,000 (about N22m) per expatriate working at a director’s level.
Failure to pay the levy attracts a fine of N3m for each offence. This will be in addition to paying the correct levy for each expatriate.
According to The Punch, the offences that companies can be punished for include: not submitting EEL, not registering an employee, a corporate entity not renewing EEL within 30 days, and providing false information on EEL.
The levy, which was launched on February 28, 2024 is mostly on the offshore earnings of expatriates working in Nigeria.
The aim is to balance economic growth and workforce development by ensuring equitable contributions from expatriate employment.
He stated that the EEL would close the wage gaps between expatriates and the Nigerian labour force while increasing employment opportunities for qualified Nigerians in foreign companies operating in the country.
By the new policy, companies are expected to pay $15,000 for expatriates employed as directors, and $10,000 for other categories.
The Ministry of Interior in a notice on its website stated that the EEL card is a mandatory document like a passport.
