WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Does legislation explicitly prohibit discrimination in hiring or recruitment on the basis of foreign national origin?

Map reflects policies in place as of August 2016. Updates of these data are currently in progress.

The term “foreign national origin” includes references to ‘ancestry’, ‘citizenship or origin of parents’, ‘country or place of birth’, ‘homeland’, ‘national descent’, or ‘national origin’. For the purposes of this variable, the term “foreign national origin” captures all of these definitions.

Hiring or recruitment includes explicit legislative prohibitions against discrimination during pre-employment, or the hiring or recruitment process.

No prohibition means that legislation does not take an explicit approach to prohibiting discrimination in hiring or recruitment on the basis of foreign national origin. This does not mean that legislation denies this guarantee.

General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment means that legislation prohibits discrimination in hiring or recruitment generally— for example, by prohibiting discrimination based on “any status” or stating no worker may be discriminated against. This general prohibition is not specifically extended on the basis of foreign national origin.

Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin means that legislation extends a prohibition of discrimination at the workplace on the basis of foreign national origin, but does not explicitly address discrimination in hiring nor recruitment on this basis. These broad prohibitions use language that could extend prohibition of discrimination across any aspect of work.

Yes, foreign national origin-based prohibition means that legislation either: a) extends an explicit foreign national origin-based prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment, or b) extends a broad prohibition of foreign national origin-based workplace discrimination alongside a general prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment to all workers.

Countries

Malaysia - No prohibition

Switzerland - No prohibition

Indonesia - No prohibition

India - No prohibition

Iceland - No prohibition

- No prohibition

Honduras - No prohibition

Haiti - No prohibition

Mozambique - No prohibition

Guinea-Bissau - No prohibition

Myanmar - No prohibition

Nauru - No prohibition

Greenland - No prohibition

Sierra Leone - No prohibition

Greece - No prohibition

Ghana - No prohibition

Germany - No prohibition

Nepal - No prohibition

The Gambia - No prohibition

The Netherlands - No prohibition

Tajikistan - No prohibition

Senegal - No prohibition

Thailand - No prohibition

Ethiopia - No prohibition

Iran - No prohibition

Sudan - No prohibition

Eritrea - No prohibition

Federated States of Micronesia - No prohibition

Malawi - No prohibition

Madagascar - No prohibition

Mali - No prohibition

Malta - No prohibition

Lithuania - No prohibition

Liechtenstein - No prohibition

Marshall Islands - No prohibition

Solomon Islands - No prohibition

South Sudan - No prohibition

Lebanon - No prohibition

Laos - No prohibition

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - No prohibition

Kyrgyzstan - No prohibition

Kuwait - No prohibition

Sri Lanka - No prohibition

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No prohibition

St. Kitts and Nevis - No prohibition

Singapore - No prohibition

Monaco - No prohibition

Jordan - No prohibition

Japan - No prohibition

Jamaica - No prohibition

Mongolia - No prohibition

Estonia - No prohibition

Timor-Leste - No prohibition

Maldives - No prohibition

Barbados - No prohibition

Brunei - No prohibition

Uruguay - No prohibition

Botswana - No prohibition

San Marino - No prohibition

The Philippines - No prohibition

Bhutan - No prohibition

Benin - No prohibition

Belize - No prohibition

Vanuatu - No prohibition

Poland - No prohibition

Bangladesh - No prohibition

Paraguay - No prohibition

Bahrain - No prohibition

Bahamas - No prohibition

Vietnam - No prohibition

Austria - No prohibition

Yemen - No prohibition

Armenia - No prohibition

Qatar - No prohibition

Antigua and Barbuda - No prohibition

Zambia - No prohibition

Andorra - No prohibition

Bulgaria - No prohibition

Burundi - No prohibition

Nicaragua - No prohibition

Oman - No prohibition

Egypt - No prohibition

Ecuador - No prohibition

Saudi Arabia - No prohibition

Dominica - No prohibition

Tonga - No prohibition

Nigeria - No prohibition

Czech Republic - No prohibition

Tunisia - No prohibition

Sao Tome and Principe - No prohibition

Turkey - No prohibition

Tuvalu - No prohibition

Cambodia - No prohibition

Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Democratic Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Pakistan - No prohibition

Palau - No prohibition

Panama - No prohibition

Ukraine - No prohibition

Chad - No prohibition

Central African Republic - No prohibition

United Arab Emirates - No prohibition

Papua New Guinea - No prohibition

Cameroon - No prohibition

Romania - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Afghanistan - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Russian Federation - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

South Africa - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Iraq - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Turkmenistan - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Syria - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Guatemala - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

China - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Uzbekistan - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Italy - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Kazakhstan - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Bolivia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Venezuela - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Albania - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Libya - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Cuba - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Argentina - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Colombia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Uganda - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Algeria - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Somalia - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Eswatini - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Togo - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

El Salvador - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Gabon - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Rwanda - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Suriname - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Spain - Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on foreign national origin

Trinidad and Tobago - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Serbia - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Sweden - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

United Kingdom - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

United States of America - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

St. Lucia - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Samoa - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Slovakia - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Slovenia - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Tanzania - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Liberia - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Portugal - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Comoros - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Fiji - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Equatorial Guinea - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Dominican Republic - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Djibouti - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Denmark - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Cyprus - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Croatia - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Cote d'Ivoire - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Costa Rica - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Chile - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

France - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Cabo Verde - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Canada - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Burkina Faso - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Brazil - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Belgium - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Belarus - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Azerbaijan - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Australia - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Angola - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Finland - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Georgia - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Peru - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

North Macedonia - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Norway - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Niger - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

New Zealand - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Namibia - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Morocco - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Montenegro - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Moldova - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Mexico - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Mauritius - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Mauritania - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Luxembourg - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Grenada - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Lesotho - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Latvia - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Republic of Korea - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Kiribati - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Kenya - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Israel - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Ireland - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Hungary - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Guyana - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Guinea - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition

Zimbabwe - Yes, foreign national origin-specific prohibition