Employment permit as a ground for obtainment of residency (1)

There are numerous reasons for migration of working-age people which are mostly of economic nature like higher wages, establishment of new business in a new country or expansion of already existing one, etc. But despite different reasons for moving to Ukraine all foreign citizens face more or less similar requirements regarding their stay in this country. The most essential legal matters a foreigner needs to deal with when deciding to stay in Ukraine for a long period of time (the period of time that in most cases exceeds 90 days) is gaining of residency permit.

Ukrainian laws provide quite a few grounds for issuance of residence permit but in this publication we will focus our attention on those that are related to employment and business.

Staying of a foreign person in Ukrainian jurisdiction is regulated by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine # 150 dated the 15th of February 2012. Mostly, citizens of foreign countries enter the territory of our country based on visa which defines the possible duration of stay. There are certain countries that entered into international treaties with Ukraine which grant their citizens visa-free access to Ukraine for 90 days within 180-day period since the date of the first entry.

Based on its duration, foreign citizen’s staying in Ukraine can be either short-term or long term. Foreigners who visit Ukraine for the purpose of tourism of other similar activities that do not require prolonged staying usually have little need to know about immigration legislation of Ukraine. On the other hand, foreigners who choose Ukraine as a long-term place of stay do not only have to know immigration regulations but also to follow them which among other things means getting of residence permit. Legal grounds for gaining of the residency document are provided by article 4 of the law of Ukraine “On the legal status of foreigners and stateless persons”.

Legislation in force of our country provides two types of permits – temporary and permanent. Corresponding peculiarities of gaining of the mentioned permits are stipulated by the laws “On immigration” and “On the legal status of foreigners and stateless persons”.

According to the law, a foreign citizen who plans on staying long in Ukraine and considers possibility of Ukrainian citizenship obtainment needs to get permanent residence permit. Among other things the document can be gained based on one of the following grounds:

• kinship with Ukrainian citizen;
• foreign investment into Ukrainian economy, the amount of which is equal or exceeds 100 000 USD (on condition that the investment is duly registered);
• marriage with Ukrainian citizen;
• employment of highly qualified foreign specialists;
• other grounds.

Permanent residency permit has the following advantages:

• allows permanent staying of non-resident in Ukraine without any limitations of duration;
• simplifies entry in Ukraine and employment procedures;
• subsequently allows to gain Ukrainian citizenship.

From the perspective of employer, formalization of this kind of permit is reasonable if such employer expects to build long lasting labor relations with a foreign employee. This is explained by the fact that such permitting document provides status of the resident of Ukraine which enables employment without any additional permits (employment authorization documents).

Learn about obtainment of temporary residency permit from the second part of our publication.

Contact our law firm to learn more about regulatory requirements that are set for staying in Ukraine and our legal services in this regard.