Immigration
Migration Act 1978 visas tied to work permits from Labour
Entry runs on the Migration Act 1978, but a foreign worker needs two separate instruments: a work permit from the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations, and a visa from Immigration and Citizenship Authority.
Key rules
- Deadline — The work permit must be granted before the employment visa is issued
- Deadline — Naturalisation generally requires eight years of residence
Governing law
- Migration Act 1978 (s. 4)
- Employment of Non-Citizens Act 2007
- Papua New Guinea Citizenship provisions, Constitution 1975, pt. IV
In practice
The two-instrument structure is the most common source of failed applications: a visa will not issue without the work permit, and the permit is assessed against whether the position could be filled by a citizen. Positions on the reserved occupations list are closed to non-citizens outright. PNG generally does not permit dual citizenship except in narrow circumstances, so naturalisation usually means renouncing the previous nationality, and the residence requirement is longer than most of the region at eight years.