New Project, Existing Business or Amrah City: The Business Routes to Jordanian Citizenship

Most routes in the Jordanian programme are about running a business, not about buying a document. I read the Ministry of Investment criteria and the July 2026 amendments on 28 October 2026, and this is how the business routes work.

A new project

The investor sets up a new registered project in a productive economic sector:

• paid-up capital of at least JOD 700,000 and 20 Jordanian jobs in the Capital Governorate;
• or at least JOD 500,000 and 10 Jordanian jobs outside it.

After operations start there is a grace period of four months to hire. During that time the investor holds residency. Then a temporary passport valid for three years is issued, and after three years of verified compliance the authorities recommend citizenship.

A new stake in an existing project

Instead of starting from zero, the investor buys new shares in an operating productive project worth JOD 1,000,000, with at least JOD 500,000 going into new fixed assets. The conditions in the criteria:

• the investor is new and was not previously listed in the commercial register;
• a feasibility study, audited statements for the previous year and an updated financial position are filed;
• at least 20% new jobs for Jordanians are created;
• the new shares are frozen for three years.

The outcome is the same temporary passport for three years, then a recommendation for citizenship.

An existing investment

For someone who has run a business in Jordan for at least three years, citizenship is granted directly if:

	Capital Governorate	Other governorates
Average share in eligible fixed and non-current tangible assets, last 3 audited years	at least JOD 700,000	at least JOD 350,000
Average Jordanian employees over the period	at least 20	at least 10
Monthly employment level	at least 90% of the requirement every month	the same

If the project is only one or two years old, the investor may choose a temporary passport for the remaining period or wait until three years are complete.

Medical warehousing and food logistics

Citizenship is granted to investors with at least JOD 3,000,000 per partner in pharmaceutical and medical warehousing or in food logistics and large scale storage, once the project has operated for 36 consecutive months with 20 Jordanian jobs in the capital or 10 elsewhere. The July 2026 Cabinet text adds that in the pharmaceutical sector the investor must be a licensed pharmacist.

The employment route

An investor employing 150 Jordanians in Amman or 100 elsewhere, registered with social security for at least a year, may receive citizenship if the headcount is kept for two consecutive years, with a written undertaking.

Amrah City

The July 2026 amendments created a route for the Amrah City project (the criteria page spells it Amra City): at least JOD 1,500,000 in any economic activity and at least 20 Jordanian jobs, a four month grace period, residency until operations start, a temporary passport for three years and citizenship after three years of compliance. Neither the criteria nor the Cabinet text describe where or how investments in Amrah City are made, so this is something to ask the Ministry of Investment directly.

What I watch in these files

The status rests on social security records for three years. A drop below the required headcount can cost the passport, because the criteria state that a breach leads to revocation. That is why BRIDGES keeps the reporting under control for the whole period, not only until filing. The money side is in the cost guide.