Ministry of Labour: Workers’ housing project aims to regulate regular workers, not settle foreigners

The Ministry of Labour and Rehabilitation has clarified that the regulations and requirements for housing legal expatriate workers have been in place since 2022 by ministerial decree.

In a statement to Tanasuh TV regarding the investment strategy for regulating workers’ housing for legal, regular workers, the ministry said these regulations aim to organize legal employment and eliminate the phenomenon of informal housing.

It emphasized that the project does not aim to settle foreigners or grant them land ownership. Rather, it focuses on establishing service-oriented residential complexes exclusively for housing legal workers holding valid residency permits and official employment contracts, as part of investment opportunities for Libyan investors in cooperation with the municipalities.

The ministry stressed that housing in these complexes will be limited to legal workers who entered the country through official ports of entry and possess valid legal documents. It affirmed that these complexes will not be a haven for undocumented or illegal immigrants. 

It added that the project aims to relocate legal workers from residential areas to designated and monitored sites, facilitating oversight by relevant authorities and enhancing security and public order.

The ministry also emphasized that the right to housing and residency is linked to the duration of the employment contract and ends upon its expiry, with necessary procedures in place to ensure the worker’s departure from the country within the legal framework.

The ministry urged property owners not to house or employ foreigners outside the legal system, stressing that the relevant authorities will take legal action against violators.