As part of its continuing effort to refine how investment translates into citizenship and residence, Jordan has revised the criteria that govern investor applications. The route built on listed shares has grown more demanding, residence through property ownership has been widened, and a separate route now exists for investment in Amra City.
The Council of Ministers announced the amendments on 15 July 2026. What was issued is a decision on the criteria applied to investors, not an amendment to the Jordanian Nationality Law, and that distinction carries weight in practice. The financial threshold is only the entry point; around it sits a wider administrative process, in which the investment must be verified, the applicant passes a security review, and, for several of the routes, compliance has to be shown again and again over the years that follow.
The change that matters most falls on investment in Jordanian shares. The amount required has climbed to JOD 1.5 million, the share an investor may hold in any single company has been cut to 10%, and the money now has to stay in place for 5 years rather than 3. The Cabinet also set three separate thresholds for 5-year residence through property ownership, and opened a distinct route for investment in Amra City.
The Listed-Share Route: What Changed
Under the criteria set in July 2025, an investor could take this route by buying JOD 1 million in new shares, placing no more than 20% of the required amount in a single company, and accepting a restriction of 3 years. The July 2026 decision moves all three figures:
- the minimum investment is now JOD 1.5 million;
- no more than 10% of the required amount may sit in one company; and
- the account, including any trading profits, stays restricted for 5 years.
The purchase has to be completed within 4 months of the Ministry of Investment issuing its approval letter. Trading runs through a licensed financial brokerage firm, and the shares may not be pledged, lent or borrowed. The effect reaches beyond a higher price tag. An investor is now asked to hold a more diversified portfolio and to stay in the Jordanian market for materially longer, so the choice of shares can no longer be separated from the brokerage arrangement or from the legal compliance that sits behind both. This is no longer a nationality filing that stands on its own.
The Available Routes at a Glance
There is no single investment amount that fits every citizenship case. Which route applies turns on what the investor is actually doing: making a financial investment, building a new project, buying into an existing business, relying on an investment already running in Jordan, or crossing an employment threshold.
| Route | Financial requirement | Principal continuing condition |
|---|---|---|
| New purchases of shares in Jordanian companies | JOD 1.5 million | Maximum 10% in one company; funds and profits restricted for five years |
| New productive project in the Capital Governorate | JOD 700,000 paid-up capital | Jordanian employment and three years of verified compliance |
| New productive project outside the Capital Governorate | JOD 500,000 paid-up capital | Jordanian employment and three years of verified compliance |
| New ownership interests in an existing productive project | JOD 1 million paid-up capital; at least JOD 500,000 in qualifying new assets | Expansion evidence, new employment and a three-year restriction on the new interests |
| Existing investment in the Capital Governorate | Average eligible assets of JOD 700,000 over three years | At least 90% of the required Jordanian workforce in each month of the measurement period |
| Existing investment outside the Capital Governorate | Average eligible assets of JOD 350,000 over three years | At least 90% of the required Jordanian workforce in each month of the measurement period |
| Pharmaceutical or qualifying food-logistics investment | JOD 3 million | Sector and employment conditions |
| Large-employer route | 150 Jordanian employees in the Capital Governorate or 100 elsewhere | Prior Social Security registration and post-grant workforce maintenance |
| Amra City | JOD 1.5 million | Genuine Jordanian employment and the project-compliance process |
| Five-year residence through property | JOD 150,000, JOD 200,000 or JOD 300,000, depending on location and seller | Property retained for five years without sale or mortgage |
Project Routes Require More Than Paid-Up Capital
A new productive project may qualify with paid-up capital of JOD 700,000 in the Capital Governorate, or JOD 500,000 elsewhere. The lower figure outside the Capital Governorate is deliberate; it ties the benefit to investment and jobs in the governorates rather than in the capital alone.
Employment here is not a side condition. The workforce must be Jordanian and evidenced through the Social Security Corporation. The Cabinet announcement points to the numbers already set in the criteria without repeating them; the earlier published criteria used 20 jobs in the Capital Governorate and 10 outside it, so the applicable employment schedule should be checked as part of the file.
Once the project commences operations, the investor has 4 months to complete the required workforce. The path is staged rather than immediate: residence while the project becomes operational, then a 3-year temporary Jordanian passport once the conditions are met, and only afterwards a recommendation for citizenship, made after the compliance period has been verified. Crucially, it should never be presented as citizenship granted the moment a company is registered or capital is deposited.
Buying new ownership interests in an existing productive project follows a different logic. The company has to hold at least JOD 1 million in paid-up capital, and the qualifying new fixed and non-current assets must be worth at least JOD 500,000. The file also has to show a genuine expansion, supported by a feasibility study, audited financial statements and a financial position that reflects the new investment. The new interests carry a three-year restriction, and additional Jordanian employment is required.
Where the investor relies on a business that is already operating, the test looks back over 3 years. The qualifying asset threshold is JOD 700,000 in the Capital Governorate and JOD 350,000 elsewhere, measured by the investor's share of eligible assets in certified financial statements. The employment condition here bites every month, not merely as an average struck at the end of the period.
Employment as an Independent Route
An investor who employs 150 Jordanians in the Capital Governorate, or 100 in the other governorates, may qualify on that basis alone. The employees must have been registered with the Social Security Corporation for at least 1 year before citizenship is granted, and the number has to be maintained for 2 consecutive years afterwards.
The decision also keeps routes for investments of at least JOD 3 million in pharmaceutical warehouses and related medical supplies, and in qualifying large-scale food logistics and warehousing. Each carries its own sector and workforce conditions, which should be read against the activity the company is actually licensed to carry on.
A Separate Route for Amra City
The July 2026 decision brings Amra City into the framework. An investment of at least JOD 1.5 million per investor may qualify across economic activities, provided genuine jobs are created for Jordanians.
The process follows the project model, not the listed-share model. The investor may receive residence while the project reaches actual operation and completes its workforce, followed by a temporary passport and, after 3 years of verified compliance, a recommendation for citizenship.
Property Ownership Leads to Residence, Not Citizenship
The property provisions sit apart from the citizenship routes, and they should be read that way. They grant 5-year residence to a purchaser, investor or not, who acquires qualifying property at one of the following values:
- JOD 200,000 when buying from a real-estate developer or housing company;
- JOD 300,000 when buying from any other seller; or
- JOD 150,000 for property outside the Capital Governorate, with no requirement to buy from a developer.
The value for this purpose is fixed by the appraisal of the Department of Lands and Survey. The property must stay in the applicant's ownership for 5 years, and may not be sold or mortgaged during that time.
The point is easily missed, so it is worth stating plainly: property at these thresholds supports an application for residence. It does not, on its own, open a route to Jordanian citizenship.
Family Members and Continuing Compliance
The announced criteria extend citizenship to the qualifying investor's wife, to dependent daughters, to unmarried sons who were under 24 when the application was filed, and to parents the investor supports. Should the investment exceed JOD 2 million, sons under 30 may also be included, together with their wives and children.
Age, marital status and dependency are all assessed against the conditions of the route, so the family documents are best prepared alongside the principal application rather than gathered at the end.
Compliance does not stop at the initial approval. Depending on the route, the investor may have to preserve the investment, keep the workforce in place, hold the registered restrictions over shares or property, and put updated evidence before the authorities. The Cabinet decision is explicit that breaching a condition can lead to withdrawal of citizenship, or cancellation of residence, as the case may be.
What an Investor Should Examine Before Choosing a Route
The lowest headline figure is not always the lightest route. An existing business outside the Capital Governorate may fall within the JOD 350,000 asset threshold, yet it still has to produce 3 years of certified financial records and a sustained employment history. The listed-share route asks no one to run a business, but it locks up a larger sum for 5 years and caps concentration. Property asks for less capital, but it delivers residence, not citizenship.
The right route, then, follows the investment the applicant genuinely intends to make, not the smallest number on the page. Any serious legal review reaches into the source and movement of the funds, the ownership structure, the regulatory standing of the business or asset, the Social Security records, the financial statements, the restrictions on disposal, and the family members to be included.
Abdullah & Partners advises foreign investors on investment structuring and market entry, company formation, regulatory approvals, residency matters, and qualifying real-estate acquisitions.
This article provides general information as of 16 July 2026 and does not constitute legal advice. The applicable criteria and administrative requirements should be checked for the particular investment before any step is taken.
