Hiring a foreign national

Tiléni Solaire wins the contract for a solar power plant. It needs an electrical grid engineer, and the only qualified candidate is a foreign national. The managing director drafts the contract, books the plane ticket and sets the start date for a fortnight’s time. He forgets the essentials: without an approved contract and a work permit, the hire is on shaky ground, and the permit fees are multiplied by five.

1. What exactly are we talking about?

Tiléni Solaire is a fictitious solar installation company with 45 employees in Bamako: its name and situation are used purely as an example.

The Labour Code sets the principle: a foreign worker’s contract is always in writing and subject to approval (visa) by the National Directorate of Labour (DNT), accompanied by a work permit (Labour Code, article L.26). The approval is the authorities’ check and signature on the contract.

The work permit is the authorisation issued by the DNT allowing a foreign national to hold a specific salaried job, with a single employer, for a defined period (Order No. 2024-4363 of 27 December 2024, articles A.26-1 and A.26-11).

Why this check? To reserve for national workers the jobs they can fill, and to protect the foreign worker too: an approved contract is a checked contract. Once hired, the foreign worker has the same rights as any employee, because the Code applies to them (Labour Code, article L.338).

“No approval, no permit, no start date.”

2. The substantive condition: a job no national can fill

The permit is only issued if two conditions are met: the job cannot in any case be filled by a national worker, whether by internal promotion or external recruitment; and the worker holds the necessary qualifications (article A.26-2).

Proof comes through the employer’s reasoned report, without which the DNT does not accept the file. It states the company’s identity and business, the requirements of the job and its tasks, and the reasons justifying the employment of a foreign national, in particular their qualifications (article A.26-4).

For Tiléni Solaire, the report must describe the search carried out in Mali: the vacancy published, the applications received, and why none met the project’s requirements.

The most common mistake

Writing a three-line report: “profile unavailable in Mali”. The DNT expects facts: the job requirements, the search carried out, the qualifications of the person chosen.

What you need to do

• Publish the vacancy in Mali and keep a record of the applications received.
• Write a reasoned report describing the job, the tasks and the qualifications required.
• Gather evidence of the chosen person’s qualifications.

3. The file and the timetable

The employer files the application with the DNT. It includes (article A.26-3):

• a work permit application bearing a 200 XOF stamp;
• the employment contract in four copies, drawn up after the pre-employment medical examination;
• two passport photos;
• the document proving authorisation to reside in Mali;
• the reasoned report under article A.26-4.

The contract is written in French and contains the particulars required by the Code: the worker’s identity and nationality, job, grading, salary, applicable collective agreement, length of leave and, if the employee comes from elsewhere, the travel paid by the employer (Labour Code, article L.27).

Deadlines to meet

The employer is responsible for applying for approval: within 15 days of the start of performance for a contract of 6 months or less, within 30 days beyond that. The Code deems approval granted if the authority has not replied within 15 days of receiving the application, and any refusal must be reasoned (Labour Code, article L.29).

The Order, for its part, requires the DNT to notify its decision on the permit within 15 days of filing, extended to one month if a further inquiry is needed (article A.26-12). The approved contract comes back with the permit, which the employer collects itself or through an authorised representative (articles A.26-3 and A.26-10).

Renewal must be requested at least one month before expiry, with the renewed contract in four copies and the current permit. The receipt allows the employee to keep working until that permit’s end date (article A.26-5).

The most common mistake

Letting the foreign worker start, then filing “within the deadline”. The Code does allow 15 or 30 days to apply for approval, but the Order multiplies the fees by five where a foreign national is employed without a permit (article A.26-6). Filing before the start date removes that risk.

What you need to do

• Have the pre-employment medical examination done before signing the contract.
• File the complete application with the DNT before the start date.
• Diarise the renewal deadline, one month before the permit expires.

4. Contract duration and the cost of the permit

The mandatory fixed-term contract in the first two years

During their first two years of permanent residence in Mali, a foreign national may only work under a fixed-term contract, unless there is a reciprocity agreement with their country (article L.26). The permit follows the same logic: its validity is tied to the length of the contract and may not exceed two years, including renewal, for these workers (article A.26-8).

Tiléni Solaire’s engineer, who arrived in Mali three months ago, will therefore sign a fixed-term contract. It remains subject to the ordinary rules: in writing, two years at most (Labour Code, article L.21), no more than two renewals (article L.20).

Conversely, the Code states that a foreign national recruited locally is not considered an expatriate (article L.26): hired on the spot, they come under a local contract, even though they need a permit. See Expatriate contract.

What the permit costs

The fees are due at each contract renewal, subject to reciprocity, and paid to the DNT against a Public Treasury receipt (articles A.26-6 and A.26-7).

Contract and salary band	Permit fees
Fixed-term, under 100,000 XOF	30%
Fixed-term, 100,001 to 500,000 XOF	35%
Fixed-term, 500,001 to 1,000,000 XOF	40%
Fixed-term, over 1,000,000 XOF	45%
Open-ended contract	One and a half months’ gross salary
Foreign national employed without a permit	Applicable rate multiplied by five

The Order sets the fixed-term rates by salary band without specifying the base. The simplest reading applies them to the gross monthly salary: have the amount confirmed by the DNT before budgeting.

Example. Engineer on a 12-month fixed-term contract, gross monthly salary of 900,000 XOF, rate applied to the monthly salary:

Permit fees: 900,000 × 40% = 360,000 XOF
If they work without a permit: 360,000 × 5 = 1,800,000 XOF
By comparison, on an open-ended contract: 900,000 × 1.5 = 1,350,000 XOF

What you need to do

• Use a fixed-term contract during the first two years of residence, unless there is a reciprocity agreement.
• Budget for the permit fees at each renewal and have the amount confirmed in writing.
• Never let a foreign national work without a permit.

5. After hiring: keeping track of the permit

The permit must be produced whenever the inspector asks (article A.26-15), and its number appears in the second section of the employer’s register (article A.130.1). It may be withdrawn if the worker breaks the law (article A.26-13). On this register, see Which registers must an employer keep, and for how long?

Each year, before 31 December, the employer sends the DNT a nominal statement of its foreign staff: names, nationalities, qualifications, recruitment dates, jobs, salaries, bonuses and allowances, types of contract, permit issue and expiry dates (article A.26-16).

What an oversight costs

Breaches of articles L.26, L.27 and L.29 are punishable by a fine of 10,000 to 50,000 XOF, and 20,000 to 100,000 XOF for a repeat offence (Labour Code, article L.316); the inspector may also collect a fixed fine of 18,000 XOF (Order No. 2024-4363, article 2). More serious: if approval is refused because the employer did not put the contract in writing or did not submit it for approval, the worker may have the contract declared void and claim damages, and repatriation is at the employer’s expense (article L.29).

The most common mistake

Giving the foreign worker another job, another location or another group employer under the same permit. The permit covers a specific activity and a single employer, and it states the job and the place of work (articles A.26-8 and A.26-11): any change must first be checked with the DNT.

What you need to do

• Record the permit number in the employer’s register.
• Send the nominal statement of foreign staff before 31 December.
• Consult the DNT before any change of job, location or employer.

A closer look: neighbouring countries, quotas and imported rules

The Order reserves any contrary provisions of treaties and agreements concluded by Mali (article A.26-1). Two regional frameworks matter here. Mali left ECOWAS on 29 January 2025; the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) declared on 14 December 2024 that ECOWAS nationals keep the right of entry, movement, residence, establishment and exit, subject to national laws, without saying anything about work permits. Mali remains a member of the WAEMU (UEMOA), whose treaty (article 91) in principle prohibits nationality-based discrimination in access to employment, public posts excepted, but refers to implementing texts.

None of these texts expressly exempts anyone from the work permit. For a WAEMU or ECOWAS national, ask the DNT for a written answer and, without written confirmation, file the application. The only exemption set by the Order itself covers a foreign national holding a mission document, for a mission of three months or less (article A.26-1).

Be wary too of guides announcing a quota of foreign workers or transposing rules from other countries, such as the French OFII fee. Neither the Labour Code nor the 2024 Order sets a maximum percentage of foreign workers: the Malian rule is that of the job no national can fill. See also Foreign worker’s contract and, for the pension of an employee leaving Mali, Retirement: allowance for foreign workers.

Key takeaways in 6 points

1. Show, in a reasoned report, that no national can fill the job.
2. Have the medical examination done, then draw up the contract in French, in four copies.
3. File the application with the DNT before the start date, and no later than 15 or 30 days after it depending on the contract’s length.
4. Use a fixed-term contract during the first two years of residence, unless there is a reciprocity agreement.
5. Budget for the permit fees at each renewal and never let anyone work without a permit.
6. Renew one month before expiry and send the annual nominal statement before 31 December.