Employment permit for foreigners in Ukraine: common issues

Every year the amount of foreigners coming to Ukraine for work is increasing. Big IT companies in Ukraine as well as the companies that work in other fields, offer jobs for high-skilled people from other countries. But of course, you can’t just come to Ukraine and stay. You’ll need a permit and we can help you to obtain one.

We will discuss the most common issues that can happen during the process of employment permit obtainment.

Related article: Foreigner’s stay in Ukraine. Employment permit as a ground for obtainment of residency. Part 2

What to know about the process?

A business entity that plans employing a foreigner should get this non-resident the permission for work in Ukraine which is issued by the Employment Center. This permit can be obtained by any person, however it will be necessary to pay a salary of at least 37000 UAH per month (as of 2019). To avoid this special salary requirement, one has to be eligible for certain grounds. You will also need the required package of documents.

• Which type of residence is the most preferable? 

After registration of work permission, to invite a specialist, the matter of getting residence permit should be solved. This document allows a non-resident staying in the territory of Ukraine for a long period of time. Mostly that is the period of validity of labor permit.

Practice has shown that in case a hired non-resident does not plan applying for Ukrainian citizenship in future, registration of temporary residence permit is the most reasonable. As a rule, it is issued for the period of validity of the employment permission.

Related article: Lawyer answers common questions about residence permit in Ukraine

• What to do, if you’ve registered the firm here in Ukraine and need a work permit for a foreigner manager?  

Obtaining such work permit for a foreigner manager is a whole another story with lots of peculiarities. First of all, because it requires not only the permit obtainment, but also in most cases to register the corresponding changes in the company's charter documents.

So, when You need to receive an employment permit, Your first step will be to apply to the State Employment Service of Ukraine and add all the required documents.

Only after receiving the permit, employer will be able to substitute company’s manager for a foreigner. 

During the process, our lawyers can help with payment of the official fee for the permit, receive the permit and make the corresponding changes in the official state register regarding the person occupying the position of director.

Related article: Is it possible for a foreigner to be manager of company in Ukraine?

Our practical experience

We’ve had a lot of cases on obtaining a residence permit in Ukraine for foreigners from various countries. 

Today there is a number of legal grounds for obtaining a temporary or permanent residence permit in our country. Commonly, we start our work with providing legal advice on the matter during which we gather all the needed information about the Client.

The two most suitable grounds for obtaining a temporary residence permit are commonly:

• a work permit;
• investment into Ukraine’s economy in the amount of one hundred thousand (100,000) U.S. dollars and more. 

Important! The latter option requires a rather complicated registration procedure and a pretty impressive amount of cash investing.

As we are talking here mostly about the obtaining the employment permit, we will concentrate on the first option.

Our steps in the process

• Assisting in getting a status of a business owner in Ukraine. For example, we had a case where the Client had a brother, who already owned the company registered in Ukraine. We ensured changes in the LLC membership and made our Client a member of the company.
• Submission of the required documents to obtain a work permit in Ukraine. 

A work permit can be obtained in just two weeks upon the submission of the package of documents to the relevant authority. 

• Getting a special visa on the basis of the work permit, which could be used as a ground for obtaining a residence permit in Ukraine.

All steps mentioned above result in receiving a residence permit in Ukraine at the earliest possible date by our Clients. We also provide further legal support and assistance in registering foreigner’s residence place in Ukraine.

Our service: Obtainment of the employment permit in Ukraine