Working and Living in Brunei

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On this Page:

- Brunei: Entry and Residence
- Brunei: Work Permits
- Brunei: Taxation of Individuals
- Brunei: Health, Education and Pensions
- Brunei: Buying and Renting Real Estate

Brunei: Entry and Residence

Nationals of Austria, Germany, Malaysia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Sultanate of Oman, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the UAE are exempted from the requirement to obtain a visa for visits not exceeding 30 days.

Visas are also waived for visits of not more than 14 days for nationals of Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Republic of Maldives, Norway, Peru, Poland, The Philippines, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and The Principality of Liechtenstein.

The maximum stay for United States nationals is 90 days before a visa is required.

Nationals of Australia and Qatar are issued visa on arrival upon their arrivals at the Brunei International Airport only for visits not exceeding 30 and 14 days respectively.

All other nationals entering Brunei Darussalam must have visas obtainable from any Brunei Darussalam diplomatic mission abroad.

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Brunei: Work Permits

The government regulates the immigration of foreign labor out of concern it might disrupt Brunei's society. Work permits for foreigners are issued only for short periods and must be continually renewed. Despite these restrictions, the estimated 100,000 foreign temporary residents of Brunei make up a significant portion of the work force. The government reported a work force of 188,800 in 2008, with a derived unemployment rate of 3.7%.

Persons entering Brunei Darussalam to take up employment must arrange with their employers to obtain employment passes prior to their arrival. Their spouses and children under 18 years of age of pass holders are required to obtain dependents' passes.

Every foreigner who intends to work in Brunei Darussalam must have a valid Employment Visa authorised by the Department of Immigration and National Registration and is issued at the Brunei Embassy or High Commisioner.

Maximum length of the validity of an employment visa is 3 years. Processing usually takes 7 working days.

The employer must have a quota license from the Labour Department and needs an approval letter from the work pass section of the Immigration and National Registration Department. The worker should have a valid passport/travel document recognised by the Brunei Director of Immigration and National Registration. The passport must have a validity of 6 months before entering the country.

Brunei: Individual Taxation

In Brunei there is no personal income tax, and there are no export, sales, payroll or manufacturing taxes. Sole-proprietorship and partnership businesses are not subject to income tax.

Estate duty is levied under the Stamp Act, Cap 34, on all immovable property in Brunei Darussalam and movable property wherever situated for persons domiciled in Brunei Darussalam at the time of death. There is double taxation relief for estate duty paid overseas on assets that are also charged to estate duty in Brunei Darussalam.

Estate duty is not payable in the case of person dying on or after December 15, 1988, on the first B$2.0 million of the aggregate value of the deceased’s interest in a dwelling house or dwelling houses, whether occupied by the deceased or not, and the amount thereof does not form part of the value of the estate charged with estate duty of any deceased person. If the value of the dwelling houses exceeds B$2.0 million, the estate duty payable on this part of the estate is 3% of the excess.

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Brunei: Health, Education and Pensions

Health Care

The health care system of Brunei is administered by the Ministry of Health, and the wealth of the Kingdom allows the delivery of a very high standard of free health care to all citizens and immigrant workers.

Malaria has been eradicated, and cholera is virtually nonexistent. There are five general hospitals and numerous health clinics throughout the country. The largest hospital, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha, is in the capital. All medical professionals in the country are educated abroad, and the general level of skill is said to be very high.

There are two private hospitals, one of which is operated for employees of Brunei Shell Petroleum. For emergency medical care, expatriates are often evacuated by air to Singapore.

Education

Nine years of education is the legal minimum in Brunei, but the usual pattern is for seven years of secondary education to follow six years of primary education. There is a university in Brunei, but most students go abroad for tertiary education.

The first English school in Brunei opened in 1931 and there are now a number of them. Immigrants or expatriates can send their children to state schools, which teach both in Malay and English, but need to pay. Most expatriates use local private schools or send their children abroad to study, for instance in Singapore.

Pensions

Pensions were introduced in the public sector in Brunei a long time ago, but not in the private sector until 1993 when the TAP scheme was introduced, under which employers and employees pay 5% of salary each into a retirement fund. Normal retirement age is 60. Immigrant workers may qualify for a state pension after a long stay.

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Brunei: Buying and Renting Real Estate

There is a thriving, open market in living accommodation in Brunei, and prices have held up quite well. A small flat in the capital will not be less than USD600 a month, while a family house will be three times as much. A new 'rental property tax' introduced in 2010, and based on deemed valuations, may add between USD40 and USD100 per month, and will probably have a dampening effect on the market, at least for smaller properties. The government does provide a considerable amount of public housing, but it is mostly for civil servants, of whom there are many.

Mortgages are readily available from local banks for residential accommodation; a typical small house costing say USD200,000 can usually be 100% financed at a cost of say USD1,500 per month over a 20-year term.

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