UDI 2010-129 Sufficient pay for residence permits for employees and service providers

1. Introduction

It is a condition to be granted a residence permit as an employee or service provider pursuant to Sections 23 to 24 of the Immigration Act that the pay and working conditions are not inferior to that provided for in the applicable collective agreement or pay scale for the industry in question. If no such collective agreement or pay scale exists, the pay and working conditions must not be inferior to what is normal for the occupation and place concerned.

This guideline regulates what is deemed to be pay pursuant to Sections 6-10 and 6-13 second paragraph of the Immigration Regulations.

2. The pay condition

As a rule, only monetary compensation shall be taken into account when assessing whether the pay is at the level required by the Immigration Act.

Pay in accordance with the collective agreement or pay scale (the collective wage rate) is the lowest acceptable pay level if there is a collective agreement or pay scale for the occupation or industry in question. This also applies when the employer or client is not covered by the collective agreement or pay scale.

Pay in accordance with what is normal for the place and occupation in question (normal pay) is the lowest acceptable pay level if there is no collective agreement or pay scale for an occupation or industry.

If a job for which higher education is required is not covered by a collective agreement or pay scale, and what constitutes normal pay cannot be substantiated in some other manner, the applicant shall be paid at least the level stipulated in the Basic Collective Agreement for the Civil Service. For further information, see Annex 1 to this guideline.