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published on March 27, 2019 | reading time approx. 7 minutes
Belarus remains an attractive destination for foreign investors and year after year the number of foreign employees working in Belarus is growing.
However, in order to recruit a foreigner, it is essential to obtain the necessary permits in advance.
Failure to obtain the appropriate permits for hiring foreigners may trigger administrative liability for employer subject to para. 4,5 Article 23.55 of the Code on administrative violations of the Republic of Belarus (“Administrative code”).
The state fee levied for the examination of the application for a work permit /permitfor engagement and use of foreign labour is five basic units (approx. 50 euros), while the duty levied for the extension is three basic units (approx. 30 euros). In some cases, laws provide for exemptions from state fees for applying for a work permit/permit for engagement and use of foreign labour as well as for their extension. In particular, such incentives (exemption from state fees) are granted to residents and investors of the Great Stone Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park.
Moreover, the state fee shall not be paid if a foreigner is engaged by an investor and/or a Belarusian business entity established by that investor independently or jointly for the purpose of implementing an investment agreement concluded with the Republic of Belarus and by a contractor or developer of the project documentation in connection with the implementation of such investment project.
The aforementioned permits are normally issued for a period of one year, but a work permit for highly qualified employees may be issued for a period of two years. The above periods may be extended only once for the same periods: At the end of these periods, an employer may request issuance of new permits. The permits shall be issued within 15 days once the respective documents have been submitted by the employer. In order to extend the permits, the employer (its representative) shall submit a respective application no later than 15 days and no earlier than two months prior to the expiration of the previously issued permit.
Then the migration authority places the stamp on extension directly on the permit initially issued.
It should be noted that foreigners may only be employed in Belarus if the vacancy cannot be filled by Belarusian citizens and/or foreigners residing permanently in Belarus. For this purpose, the necessity of employing this foreigner must be substantiated in detail and competently in an application for the respective work permit.
In addition, a foreigner can be employed by several employees on a part-time basis. In this case, however, each of the above-mentioned employers must obtain the corresponding work permits individually.
In view of the complexity and labour-intensive nature of the process of preparing the set of documents for the employment of a foreigner, we recommend starting the process at least 6-8 weeks before the expected date of employment.
An international treaty may provide for the rules for employment of foreigners other than the ones defined in the Law on external employment migration. Therefore, citizens of an EAEU member states (i.e. citizens of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan) do not need a work permit.
In addition, no work permit is required for foreigners who conclude an employment contract with a resident of the high-tech park. In this case, the local migration authorities at the employee's place of residence will only be informed within about three business days after the conclusion of the employment contract.
In addition, a work permit is not required to employ a foreigner as the head of the representative office of a foreign company in Belarus.
When hiring a foreigner, the employer must go through the ordinary hiring procedure taking into account several special features which are provided for foreigners . Such special features may be expressed in the terms of the employment contract, the documents to be submitted by the foreigner, etc. The employer must also ensure that the foreigner has the necessary qualifications.
When hiring a foreigner for a position requiring special training, the foreigner, like any other candidate, must therefore provide documented evidence of this academic background. If such documents are available that have been issued abroad, they must be duly legalised in advance.
It should also be noted that any registration of work and other records may only be made in the Belarusian work record book, and this work record book must be issued by this Belarusian employer for a foreigner unless it has already been issued by the foreigner's previous Belarusian employer.
During the hiring process of a foreigner, it is of need to draw up and execute a respective employment agreement. In addition to the general conditions provided for in labour law, the employment contract with a foreigner provides for some special conditions in accordance with the requirements of immigration law.
The duration of the employment contract may not exceed the duration for which the work permit was issued.
The employment contract and certain attachments must be registered with the migration authority within one month of the date of implementation (or the date of the relevant attachments). Registration is free of charge by affixing the migration authority's stamp both on the printed copies of the employment contract and on the supplementary agreements thereto (each copy must be handed over to the employer and employee). Otherwise, an employer may be held administratively liable subject to para. 4 Article 23.55 of the Administrative code.
Further to the conditions above, a work permit shall be also returned in case the employment contract with the foreigner has not been executed.
It order to legally stay in Belarus during the entire period of duration of the work permit, it is also required to obtain a temporary residence permit in Belarus (“TRP”). According to the applicable Belarusian laws, employment in Belarus pursuant to an employment contract may serve as a due reason to apply for TRP.
The documents on application for the TRP shall be submitted to a local migration authority at the place of the foreigner's anticipated temporary residence.
The administrative procedure lasts 15 days following the submission of documents to the migration authority. The state fee amounts to three basic units (approx. 30 euros).
According to the Edict of the President of the Republic of Belarus dated 9.1.2017 No. 8, the citizens of almost 80 states worldwide (including the EU member states) can visit Belarus on a visa-free free basis for up to 30 days.
Nevertheless, based on official clarification of migration authorities, this exemption shall not cover cases where a foreigner visits Belarus for employment purposes. In this event, such a foreigner shall receive the respective entry visa in a foreign consular department.
Subsequently, foreigners who have duly obtained the TRP shall be entitled to apply for a multiple entry visa for the entire TRP validity term. The visas are issued by local migration authorities at location of the foreigner's temporary residence in Belarus.
The administrative procedure lasts 10 days following submission of documents. State duty amounts to six basic units (approx. 60 euros). The period can be shortened due to expedited or urgent procedure: up to five days (subject to additional one basic unit or approx. 10 euros) or up to one day (subject to additional three basic units or approx. 30 euros).
Marianna Kazakevitch
Senior Associate
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