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Attraction of foreign labour force

Foreign Labour Quote

Pursuant to Article 32 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Employment of Population” , in order to protect the internal labor market, the authorized employment body establishes a quota for attracting foreign labor to work in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan..

Work permits

In order to attract foreign labour force,  the employers should obtain work permit for attraction of foreign labor force which are  issued by the local executive bodies.

Local executive bodies (Akimats) in the territory of the relevant administrative-territorial unit issue or extend permits or refuse to issue or extend permits to employers to attract foreign labor to carry out labor activities as per the quota established by the authorized employment body, as well as suspend and revoke these permits.

A permit issued by a local executive body to attract foreign labor cannot be given to other employers, as it is valid only in the territory of the specified administrative-territorial units, except for the business trip of foreign personnel, attracted under work permits, into organizations in other administrative-territorial units for a period of not more than ninety calendar days in total during one calendar year.

State fee for the issuance of work permits

Work permits for  foreign labor  force are issued or extended pursuant to the procedure and on the terms established by the authorized employment body subject to payment of a state fee in accordance with the tax laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Issuance and (or) extension of a work permit is  charged with a tax fee as per established  fee rates for the issuance and (or) extension of work permits attract foreign labor force by virtue of the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 3, 2018 No. 157 "On fee rates for the issuance and (or) extension of work permits for foreign labor ".

The provision of this paragraph on payment of a state fee for the issuance or extension of work permits for foreign labor force does not apply to foreigners and stateless persons working as part of an intra-corporate transfer.

Exemption from quote and work permits

The requirements established by the legislation regarding quotas and obtaining permits to attract foreign labor do not apply to foreigners and stateless persons: 

  1. employed by the autonomous educational organizations, their organizations, as well as in the "Nazarbayev Foundation" as managers and specialists with higher education;
  2. employed by the state bodies with confirmed documents in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
  3. employed by the organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan that have signed investment contracts for an investment priority project in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan on investments, as well as working in organizations engaged by these legal entities (or their contractors) as a general contractor, contractor, subcontractor or services provider in the field of architectural, urban planning and construction activities (including survey and design activities, engineering services), for a period up to one year after the commissioning of the object of investment activity as managers and specialists with higher education, as well as qualified workers according to the list of professions and the number determined in investment contracts for the implementation of the investment priority project;
  4. employed by the legal entities registered as participants of special economic zones, with projects worth more than one million monthly assessment indices (KZT 3063), as well as in organizations engaged by these participants of special economic zones (or their contractors) as a general contractor, contractor, subcontractor or service provider during the period of construction and installation works on the territory of special economic zones and before the expiration of one year after the commissioning of the object (objects) according to the list of categories and the number of, determined by the commission from representatives of the authorized body for employment of the population, interested central state bodies in the manner approved by a joint decision of the authorized body for employment of the population and the central executive body carrying out state regulation in the field of creation, functioning and abolition of special economic and industrial zones;
  5. those who arrived for self-employment in professions against the list of demands in priority sectors of the economy (types of economic activity);
  6. permanent residents in the Republic of Kazakhstan;
  7. employed as the first heads of branches or representative offices of foreign legal entities;
  8. employed as per the list of employees established by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to be employed without work permits for foreign labour force from the local executive bodies to carry out labor activities (Decree No.802);
  9. employed in the Astana Hub International Technology Park or with participants of the Astana Hub International Technology Park as managers and specialists with higher education.

Follow up point 8 of the above list, the Government issued  the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 15, 2016 No. 802, having established the list of foreign employees and stateless persons employed without work permits from the local the executive bodies and exempt from quotas requirements, (https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/P1600000802),:

1) Candace;

2) Business immigrants (self-employed private entrepreneurs) who arrived to carry out business activities;

3) Having status of a refugee or an asylum seeker;

4) Immigrants arriving for humanitarian reasons, in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 22, 2011 "On migration of the population";

5) Convicted by the sentences of the courts of the Republic of Kazakhstan to imprisonment, probation, to punishments not related to isolation from society;

6) Victims of human trafficking during the period of the proceedings on a specific criminal case related to human trafficking, until the court verdict comes into force;

7) Arriving to the Republic of Kazakhstan to reunify with family, provided that they reached the age of majority,  have been married to citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan not less than three years and their marriage recognized by the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

8) Full-time students and simultaneously employed by the educational institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan in their free time in accordance with the labor legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

9) Citizens of the states-parties to the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union of May 29, 2014;

10) Members of the crews of sea and river vessels, air and rail transport;

11) Working as artists, directors, conductors, choirmasters, choreographers, athletes and coaches;

12) Attracted by the participants and bodies of the Astana International Financial Center;

13) Experts attracted for the creation of a space rocket complex and the operation of ground-based space infrastructure facilities, involved in the framework of international agreements of the Republic of Kazakhstan on cooperation in the field of aerospace activities;

14) Carrying out pedagogical activities under the international agreements of the Republic of Kazakhstan on cooperation in the field of education in organizations of secondary, technical and vocational, post-secondary and higher education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, but making up no more than 25 percent, and for implementing international integrated educational curricula - no more than 50 percent of the staff of the organization;

15) Personnel staff  - teachers of higher educational institutions that have been assigned a special status in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as those working in higher educational institutions as managers and teachers with higher education with confirmed documents in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and training personnel for economic sectors.

16) Employed as the first heads of branches or representative offices of foreign legal entities, as well as the first heads of Kazakh legal entities and their deputies with a one hundred percent share of foreign participation in their authorized capital.

17) Being on a business trip for business purposes for the period of  one hundred and twenty calendar days during one calendar year.

18) Employed as the first heads of organizations that have concluded contracts with the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the amount of investments in the monetary equivalent of more than 50 million US dollars, and the first heads of legal entities of the Republic of Kazakhstan that carry out investment activities in priority activities and have concluded a contract with the authorized investment authority.

19) Employed by the national management holding in positions not lower than heads of structural divisions with higher education with confirmed documents in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

20) Attracted to work as members of the board of directors of the national management holding.

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