Lebanese employers must bear the expenses of hiring foreign workers and provide them with a work permit and insurance, Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi said in a statement issued Friday. According to the law, the annual fee to issue or renew a work permit for foreigners ranges from LL240,000 to LL1,800,000, depending on the category, of which there are four. Other fees include those for the National Social Security Fund, the labor contract, insurance and laboratory tests. The minister’s statement was issued in response to some complaints filed by foreign workers that their employers at times hold them totally responsible for these fees.
