Procedure for employment and obtaining work permit and temporary residence permit  in Ukraine for foreigners

Chapter 1: The procedure for obtaining a work permit in Ukraine

1.1. Who has the right to work in Ukraine?

According to Ukrainian legislation, foreigners and stateless persons have the right to work on the territory of Ukraine, provided that they have received an employment permit. This applies to persons who come to Ukraine on the basis of employment contracts or contracts with Ukrainian employers. It is important to note that some categories of foreigners are exempted from the need to obtain such a permit, in particular foreigners permanently residing in Ukraine.

1.1.1. The permit is issued or extended for the following categories of persons (unless otherwise established by law and/or ratified international agreements):

1. foreign employees;
2. seconded foreign workers;
3. intra-corporate assignees (recognized as such in accordance with the schedule of specific obligations in the service sector of the Protocol on the accession of Ukraine to the World Trade Organization (Article II General agreement on trade in services);
4. foreigners and stateless persons, in respect of whom a decision was made to issue documents to resolve the issue of recognition as a refugee or a person in need of additional protection; foreigners and stateless persons who appeal the decision to refuse to issue documents to resolve the issue of recognition as a refugee or a person in need of additional protection;
5. persons who submitted an application for recognition as a stateless person, and persons who appeal the decision to refuse recognition as a stateless person;
6. foreigners and stateless persons who have arrived in Ukraine for the purpose of studying in institutions of higher education and intend to work in Ukraine during the period of study and after graduation, provided that they are employed no later than 30 calendar days before the end of their studies (Article 421Law of Ukraine “On Employment of the Population”).

1.1.2. Employment is carried out without a permit (according to Part 6 of Article 42 Law of Ukraine “On Employment of the Population”):

1. foreigners and stateless persons permanently residing in Ukraine;
2. foreigners and stateless persons who acquired refugee status in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine or received immigration permit to Ukraine;
3. foreigners and stateless persons who have been recognized as persons in need of additional protection or who have been granted temporary protection in Ukraine;
4. representatives of foreign sea (river) fleets and airlines serving such companies on the territory of Ukraine;
5. persons recognized as stateless by the central executive body implementing state policy in the field of migration, including combating illegal (illegal) migration, citizenship, registration of natural persons, refugees and other legally defined categories of migrants;
6. employees of foreign media accredited to work in Ukraine;
7. athletes who have acquired professional status, artists and art workers to work in Ukraine by profession;
8. employees of emergency and rescue services to perform urgent work;
9. employees of foreign representative offices that are registered on the territory of Ukraine in accordance with the procedure established by law;
10. clerics who are foreigners and temporarily stay in Ukraine at the invitation of religious organizations to conduct canonical activities only in such organizations with official approval from the body that registered the statute (regulations) of the relevant religious organization;
11. foreigners and stateless persons who arrived in Ukraine to participate in the implementation of international technical assistance projects;
12. foreigners and stateless persons who have arrived in Ukraine to carry out teaching and/or scientific activities in institutions of professional pre-higher and higher education at their invitation;
13. other foreigners and stateless persons in the cases stipulated by the laws and international treaties of Ukraine, the binding consent of which has been given by the Parliament of Ukraine.

1.2. What regulations regulate the work of foreigners in Ukraine?

The main normative acts regulating the employment of foreigners in Ukraine are:

• Law of Ukraine “On Population Employment”
• Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons”
• Law of Ukraine “On Immigration”
• Law of Ukraine “On Education”
• Law of Ukraine “On stimulating the development of the digital economy in Ukraine”
• Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated February 24, 2023 No. 68 “On approval of the technical description, sample form, application forms for obtaining, making changes and extending the validity period of the permit for employment of foreigners and stateless persons in Ukraine”

1.3. What gives the right to employment of foreigners in Ukraine?

The basis for employment of foreigners in Ukraine is an employment permit issued to an employer for a specific employee. Without this permit, a foreigner does not have the right to work in Ukraine on legal grounds. Exceptions are certain categories of persons, such as employees of diplomatic missions or those who have a permanent residence permit.

Employers have the right to employ the labor of foreigners and stateless persons on the territory of Ukraine on the basis of a permit issued by the territorial bodies of the central executive body that implements state policy in the field of population employment and labor migration (Article 42 Law of Ukraine “On Employment of the Population”).

The foreigners and stateless persons may be employed in various positions at one or more (two or more) employers, provided that each employer obtains a permit to employ the labor of foreigners and stateless persons.

The work of foreigners and stateless persons may be used without a permit in part-time positions with one employer, if the term of the employment contract in the part-time position does not exceed the term of the permit at the main place of work.

A foreigner or a stateless person may combine work in the position specified by the permit with work in the position of a temporarily absent employee, provided that the combination lasts no more than 60 calendar days during a calendar year.

1.4. The procedure for obtaining a work permit in Ukraine

The procedure for obtaining an employment permit includes several main stages:

1. The employer submits an application to the employment center or the State Migration Service with a request for permission to employ a foreigner.
2. The necessary documents are attached to the application (details in point 1.5).
3. In case of a positive decision, the employment permit is issued for a period of up to three years, depending on the category of the foreigner and the conditions of his employment.
4. The employer concludes an employment contract or contract with the foreigner and registers it with the relevant state body.

The application and documents for obtaining or extending the validity of the permit, making changes to the permit, canceling the permit are submitted to the territorial body employment center), personally by the employer or his authorized person in paper or electronic form in one of the following ways:

• personally, during reception by officials of subjects of appeal;
• by sending a postal item with a description of the attachment;
• through the employer’s electronic account on the official website of the employment center, using an electronic signature and passing the verification procedure;
• through the administrative services center;
• through the Unified state web portal of electronic services, including through the information systems of state bodies and local self-government bodies integrated with it (if technically possible).

1.5. List of necessary documents for obtaining a work permit in Ukraine

The following documents are required to obtain a work permit:

1. a statement in the form established by the Resolution of the CMU dated 24.02.2023 No. 68, in which the employer confirms that the position in which the work of a foreigner or a stateless person will be used, according to the laws of Ukraine, is not related to belonging to the citizenship of Ukraine and does not require the provision access to state secrets;
2. A copy of the foreigner’s passport with a notarized translation into Ukrainian;
3. Photographs of a foreigner;
4. Draft employment contract or contract with a foreigner;
5. Receipt for the payment of the administrative fee

Please note: all the listed documents, which were issued on the territory of another country, must be legalized in the prescribed manner. Legalization can be done by affixing a stamp apostille or consular legalization.

1.6. Procedure for consideration of documents

Regional employment centers check the application and the documents attached to it for the presence of grounds for stopping its consideration during the next working day after accepting the application.

The regional employment center makes a decision to suspend the consideration of the application within the next working day after the application is accepted, if the following grounds exist:

• submission of documents on behalf of the employer by a person who does not have the authority to do so;
• submission together with the application of documents or information is not complete;
• inconsistency of the application and/or documents submitted together with the application with the established requirements, the application is not made in the prescribed form;
• presence of inaccurate data in the application or documents submitted together with the application;
• inconsistency of the terms of the employment contract (contract) concluded with a foreigner or stateless person, or the terms of the additional agreement on amendments to the employment contract (contract) with the labor legislation of Ukraine.

In order to eliminate the grounds for suspending the consideration of the application, the employer must submit documents within seven working days from the date of adoption of the decision to suspend the consideration of the application for issuing a permit (three business days from the date of adoption of the decision to suspend the consideration of the application for the extension of the permit or to make changes to it).

In the absence of grounds, the regional employment center shall:

1. makes a decision on issuing or extending the validity, or making changes to the permit within the established terms;
2. within two working days from the date of the decision, publishes relevant information on its official website and notifies the employer by means of electronic communication.

1.7. The amount of the fee for issuing and extending the validity of a permit to employ foreigners and stateless persons in 2024

The minimum for able-bodied persons established by law on January 1 of the calendar year in which the employer or his authorized person submitted the documents	STATE PERMIT PAYMENT fee
	The size of the fee for issuance of the permit is	ISSUANCE UAH	ISSUANCE EUR
UAH 3028.00	up to 6 months inclusive (3 residential minimums)	9084.00	200,00
	from 6 months to 1 year inclusive (5 resident minimums)	15,140.00	330,00
	from 1 year to 2 years inclusive (8 residential minimums)	24,224.00	530,00
	from 2 years to 3 years inclusive (10 residential minimums)	30,280.00	660,00

3. We would like to inform you that from January 1, 2024, the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons is 3,028 hryvnias.
4. The minimum monthly salary is 7,100 hryvnias.

Section 2: The procedure for obtaining a temporary right of stay (residence) in Ukraine

2.1. Who has the right and who must receive a permit for a temporary right of stay in Ukraine?

Foreigners who are employed on the territory of Ukraine on the basis of an employment contract or contract are required to obtain a temporary residence permit. They have the right to stay in Ukraine on the basis of this permit during the term of the employment contract, provided they have a valid employment permit.

2.2. What normative acts govern the issue of obtaining a temporary residence permit in Ukraine?

Normative regulation of the temporary right of stay for foreigners includes:

• Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Status of Foreigners and Stateless Persons”;
• Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding the procedure for obtaining a temporary residence permit;
• Rules for registering the place of residence of foreigners.

2.3. The procedure for obtaining a permit for a temporary right of stay (residence) in Ukraine

The procedure for obtaining a temporary residence permit is as follows:

1. A foreigner submits an application to the State Migration Service.
2. Attaches a set of necessary documents (details in point 2.4).
3. In the case of a positive decision, the residence permit is issued for the duration of the employment contract.
4. A foreigner registers his place of residence in Ukraine in accordance with established rules.

2.4. The list of necessary documents for obtaining a permit for a temporary right of stay (residence) in Ukraine

The list of necessary documents for obtaining a temporary residence permit includes:

• Statement of a foreigner;
• Employment permit;
• Employment contract or contract with the employer;
• A copy of the passport with a notarized translation;
• Receipt for the payment of the administrative fee;
• A document confirming the availability of housing in Ukraine (lease agreement or ownership document).