Doing a Business

Foreign Labor Quote

In accordance with Article 36-1 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Migration of the Population”, in order to protect the domestic labor market, the authorized body on population migration issues establishes a quota for attracting foreign labor to carry out labor activities on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Work permits

Foreign labor is attracted by employers to carry out labor activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan on the basis of permissions for the recruitment of foreign labor, issued by local executive bodies of the relevant administrative-territorial units.

Local executive bodies in the territory of the relevant administrative-territorial units issue or extend permits or refuse to issue or extend permits to employers to hire foreign labor to carry out labor activities within the quota allocated by the authorized body for employment issues, and also suspend and revoke the said permits.

A permit issued by a local executive body to employ foreign labor is not transferable to other employers and is valid on the territory of the administrative-territorial units specified therein,  with the exception of the sending by an employer of foreign workers for whom permits have been obtained on a business trip to organizations located on the territory of other administrative-territorial units, for a period that does not exceed a total of ninety calendar days during one calendar year.

State fee for the issuance of work permits

Permission for employers to employ foreign labor is issued or extended in the manner and under the conditions determined by the authorized body for population migration issues, as well as upon payment of fees in accordance with tax legislation Republic of Kazakhstan

For the issuance or extension of a permit, employers are charged a tax fee (hereinafter referred to as the fee) in accordance with the fee rates for the issuance or extension of a permit to attract foreign labor to the Republic of Kazakhstan, approved by decree Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 3, 2018 No. 157 "On establishing fee rates for issuing or extending a permit to attract foreign labor to the Republic of Kazakhstan".

When obtaining or extending a permit to attract foreign labor to the Republic of Kazakhstan within one and (or) other administrative-territorial units, a fee is paid to the budget of each administrative-territorial unit specified in the permit.

Permits issued within the framework of an intra-corporate transfer within more than one administrative-territorial unit are carried out free of charge.

Exemption from quota and work permits

Norms of this Law on the establishment of quotas for foreign labor and the issuance of permits to employers to hire foreign labor do not apply to foreigners and stateless persons:

1) working in autonomous educational organizations, their organizations, as well as in the Nazarbayev Fund in the positions of managers and specialists with higher education;

2) employed in government agencies with confirmed documents in the manner established by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

3) employed in organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan that have concluded, in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on investments, investment contracts for the implementation of a priority investment project, as well as employed in organizations engaged by the said legal entities (or their contractors) as a general contractor, contractor, subcontractor or service provider in the field of architectural, urban planning and construction activities (including survey and design activities, engineering services), for a period of up to one year after the commissioning of the investment activity object as managers and specialists with higher education, as well as as skilled workers according to the list of professions and numbers that are determined in investment contracts for the implementation of a priority investment project;

4) employed by legal entities that are participants in special economic zones, with projects worth over one million monthly calculation indices, as well as by organizations engaged by the said participants in special economic zones (or their contractors) as a general contractor, contractor, subcontractor or service provider, during the period of construction and installation work on the territory of special economic zones and until the expiration of one year after the commissioning of the facility (facilities) in accordance with the list of categories and numbers determined by a commission of representatives of the authorized body on employment issues, interested central government bodies in in order, approved by a joint decision of the authorized body on employment issues and the central executive body implementing state regulation in the sphere of creation, operation and abolition of special economic and industrial zones;

5) those who arrived for independent employment in their professions, in demand in priority sectors of the economy (types of economic activity);

6) permanently residing in the Republic of Kazakhstan;

7) working as top managers of branches or representative offices of foreign legal entities;

8) provided determined The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan has a list of persons who do not require permits from local executive bodies to attract foreign labor to carry out labor activities;

9) working in the international technological park "Astana Hub" or with participants of the international technological park "Astana Hub" in the positions of managers and specialists with higher education. 

In addition to the specified list of foreigners and stateless persons exempt from the requirements of compliance with quotas and obtaining permits for the attraction of foreign labor, the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 24, 2023 No. 1041 established a list of persons whose work activities do not require permits from local executive bodies to attract foreign labor (https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/P2300001041#z36), according to which the following categories of foreigners and stateless persons do not require permission from local executive bodies to attract foreign labor:

1) kandasy;

2) business immigrants who arrived to carry out entrepreneurial activities;

3) those who have received refugee status or an asylum seeker certificate;

4) who are immigrants arriving for humanitarian reasons, in accordance with By law Republic of Kazakhstan "On population migration";

5) persons sentenced by courts of the Republic of Kazakhstan to suspended sentences or punishments not involving isolation from society;

6) who are victims of human trafficking during the period of proceedings in a specific criminal case related to human trafficking, until the entry into force of a court sentence;

7) persons entering the Republic of Kazakhstan for the purpose of family reunification, a spouse who has been in a marriage recognized by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan for at least three years, and whose inviting persons are citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

8) students studying full-time and simultaneously working in educational institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan in their free time in accordance with the labor legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

9) who are citizens of the participating states Agreements on the Eurasian Economic Union of May 29, 2014;

10) who are members of crews of sea and river vessels, air and rail transport;

11) working as artists, directors, conductors, choirmasters, ballet masters, athletes and coaches;

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

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

14) carrying out pedagogical activities in accordance with international treaties of the Republic of Kazakhstan on cooperation in the field of education in educational organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as for those implementing international integrated educational curricula - no more than 50 percent of the organization's staff, unless another share is established by an international treaty;

15) from among the teaching staff in educational organizations that have been assigned a special status in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as those working in educational organizations in the positions of managers and teachers, whose qualifications correspond to the requirements established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and who train personnel for sectors of the economy;

16) working as top managers of Kazakhstani legal entities and their deputies with 100% foreign participation in their authorized capital;

17) those on a business trip for business purposes, the duration of which does not exceed a total of one hundred and twenty calendar days within one calendar year;

18) working as top managers of organizations that have concluded contracts with the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan for an investment amount in monetary equivalent of over 50 million US dollars, and as top managers of legal entities of the Republic of Kazakhstan that carry out investment activities in priority types of activities and have concluded a contract with the authorized investment body;

19) working in the national management holding in positions not lower than heads of structural divisions with higher education and confirmed documents in the manner 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;

21) those who have received an investor visa, with the exception of family members and dependents.