Under the current law, a non-resident worker is not eligible for employment by any other employer for five years after the date of termination of any prior employment in Palau.
If Senate Bill No. 8-160 is passed into law, a non-resident worker will be eligible for employment by another employer for the duration of the term in his contract(and any renewal after the duration) if the non-resident worker is otherwise eligible to be hired; or when the current employer dies and the employer’s legal successor agrees to retain the employment of the non-resident worker; or when the current employer sells the company or transfers the management of the company to another employer, and the seller and the buyer of the company agree that the buyer shall retain the non-residentworker as an employee; if the current employer is found guilty by a court of law for any crime where the non-resident worker, or a dependent of the non-resident worker, is a victim; or when the business of the current employer dissolves; or when the current employer and the employer to whom the non-resident worker is to be transferred agree in writing to the transfer.
However, a non-resident worker may only be transferred one time, and no transfers will be allowed unless the employer to whom the worker is to be transferred signs a written commitment with the Division of Labor to pay all the costs of repatriating the non-resident worker to his home country regardless of the reasons for the repatriation and pays a transfer fee of $500.00 to the National Treasury.
This Bill, however, is not applicable to parents or spouses of Palauan citizens employed as non-resident workers.
