Mozambique foreign worker quotas for lodges: 5% to 15% explained

In Mozambique the lodge applies to the provincial labour authority to hire you, and how it applies depends on its size. Every employer has a quota for foreign staff, from 5% of the workforce for large companies to 15% for micro businesses, and hiring beyond the quota means proving no qualified Mozambican is available. Every foreign hire also comes with a training plan to hand the job to a national, so foreigners tend to fill specialist and management roles. Hunter-guides need a licence under rules that cover foreigners as well as nationals, but we found no official licensing rules for photographic lodge guides.

Labour approval first, then a work visa from abroad

There are two layers. The labour side is governed by Decree 88/2024, which took effect when it was published on 17 December 2024. The employer files with the labour authority in the province where you will work, using one of three routes: the quota regime, the work authorisation regime for hires outside the quota, or the short-term regime for specific, one-off tasks lasting no more than 120 days in a calendar year. For short-term work the employer must notify the labour authority before you enter the country.

The immigration side is a work visa from the National Migration Service (SENAMI). According to a 2017 news report on a SENAMI change, new work visas are issued by Mozambican embassies and consulates abroad and extended each year in the country while the employment contract is valid, and work visa holders no longer get a DIRE residence card. We could not find a current SENAMI page setting out the procedure.

Quotas by company size, and proof for anything beyond them

Article 10 of the decree sets each employer’s quota as a share of its total workforce.

A micro business may hire one foreign worker even if it has fewer than ten Mozambican staff. A quota hire needs the contract, your qualifications with an equivalence certificate, a company tax clearance and your passport copy, and the company must be up to date with social security.

Outside the quota, the work authorisation regime allows a foreigner only where there are no nationals with the qualifications, or too few of them. The file adds a union opinion and a copy of the business licence. Whichever route is used, Article 3 obliges the employer to transfer knowledge under a training plan and gradually replace the foreign worker with a Mozambican.

Fees pegged to the minimum wage

The decree sets labour fees as multiples of the minimum wage for the employer’s sector: ten minimum wages for a work authorisation, five for a quota hire and one for short-term work. The 2026 minimum wage for tourism, hotels and similar businesses is 10,600 meticais a month, backdated to 1 April 2026, according to Club of Mozambique.

For the work visa itself, accounting firm RSM Mozambique lists these rates under Ministerial Diploma 18/2024, in force since 22 February 2024.

Two-year contracts, renewed by new application

A foreign worker’s contract can run for a maximum of two years. It is renewed by a fresh application, and it never turns into a permanent contract. The decree sets no limit on the number of renewals.

Hunter-guides are licensed, photographic guides are unclear

Decree 52/2021 regulates hunter-guides, who lead hunting safaris and also accompany tourists to watch, photograph and film wildlife. It applies to nationals and foreigners alike. A hunter-guide needs both a card certifying their qualifications and a licence to practise, and a foreigner’s licence application must name the employer or safari company. We found no official licensing rules or fees for non-hunting guides at photographic lodges, and no rule reserving guiding for citizens.

Volunteering has no published rule

Decree 88/2024 does not mention volunteers or unpaid work. It does let the labour minister decide NGO and research hires after consulting the sector authority. The official eVisa portal lists a humanitarian assistance visa but gives no details of who qualifies. We could not find an official rule for volunteers, so ask the organisation which permit it uses. Placements are listed on our volunteering page.

A new labour law and higher quotas for small employers

Labour Law 13/2023 came into force on 21 February 2024. According to WTW, it raised the quota for companies with up to ten employees from 10% to 15%, and for companies with 11 to 30 employees from 8% to 10%. Decree 88/2024 then put the new system into effect. Because labour fees follow the sector minimum wage, the April 2026 wage rise also raised the cost of hiring a foreigner.

Check the quota before you check flights

Ask the lodge early which route it will use, whether it has quota space and who pays the labour and visa fees. Do not start work, paid or unpaid, before both the labour approval and the visa are in place: the decree fines employers five to ten times the foreign worker’s monthly salary for breaking the rules, doubled for a repeat within a year. Mozambicans are first in line for most lodge jobs. Current openings are on our jobs in Mozambique page.

This is a plain-language summary of the rules as they stood in October 2026, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, so check the official sources below or ask the employer before you apply.

Sources

• Decree 88/2024, Boletim da República I Série No. 244 (17 Dec 2024): archive.gazettes.africa
• Decree 52/2021, hunter-guide regulations, via FAOLEX (27 Jul 2021): faolex.fao.org
• Mozambique eVisa, purposes of travel (undated, accessed Oct 2026): evisa.gov.mz
• Visa and residence fees under Ministerial Diploma 18/2024, RSM Mozambique (28 Apr 2025): rsm.global
• New labour code comes into force, WTW (26 Feb 2024): wtwco.com
• 2026 minimum wages, Club of Mozambique (29 Apr 2026): clubofmozambique.com
• SENAMI work visa changes, Lusa via DN (9 Nov 2017): dn.pt