Work permits for foreign nationals in Ukraine.

One of the most common misconceptions is to view the work permit as a personal document belonging to the foreign national.

In fact, the work permit is issued to the employer.

The document grants the employer the right to employ a specific foreign national in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the permit. The employee themselves cannot obtain a universal work permit and then use it to move freely between Ukrainian companies.

A foreign national may work in different roles or for several employers, but the law sets out specific rules regarding the need to obtain a permit for such employment. There are also exceptions regarding holding multiple jobs with the same employer.

And one more key point: a work permit and a temporary residence permit are different documents.

The former concerns the employer’s right to employ the foreign national. The latter confirms the foreign national’s right to reside temporarily in Ukraine.

For someone moving here for work, these procedures often form a single process. Legally, however, they remain separate.

For a foreign employee arriving in Ukraine to work for a fixed term, the general rule is that the employer must obtain a work permit.

The profession is not the main criterion in this regard. A work permit may be required for a director, manager, IT specialist, engineer, chef, process engineer, builder or other specialist.

At the same time, the Law of Ukraine ‘On Employment’ provides for a fairly extensive list of cases where employment takes place without such a permit.

These include foreign nationals who are permanently resident in Ukraine, persons who have been granted an immigration permit, have been granted refugee status, require subsidiary protection or have been granted temporary protection. There are specific exceptions for persons recognized as stateless, accredited foreign media workers, professional sportspeople, artists, participants in international technical assistance programs, and certain foreign nationals invited to carry out teaching or research activities. The list is not limited to these.

Therefore, the mere possession of a foreign passport does not in itself mean that the employer is obliged to apply for a work permit.

The employee’s status is checked first.

The formal applicant is the employer or their authorized representative. However, the procedure cannot, of course, be completed without the prospective employee's involvement.

The foreign national provides their passport, a photograph and the information required for the application. Additional supporting documents may be required for specific categories.

For their part, the employer determines the position, the duration and conditions of employment, and prepares a draft employment contract, the application and other documents.

In the case of group recruitment, this stage in particular requires careful organization. When registering 20 employees, there are no longer 20 identical files. Some may have passports due to expire; others may have different immigration statuses; and the durations of employment contracts, arrival dates, and subsequent immigration procedures will vary.

Therefore, for group registration, we usually create a separate employee register and monitor the status of each file.

For a standard foreign employee, the basic package includes: It is precisely this last point that is important for the sequence of the procedure: payment must be made before the documents are submitted, as proof of payment forms part of the package that the employer submits with the application.

• an application form in the prescribed format;
• copies of the passport pages containing personal details;
• a translation of the relevant passport details into Ukrainian;
• a color photograph measuring 3.5 × 4.5 cm;
• a draft employment contract or agreement, certified by the employer;
• proof of payment of the permit fee.

Documents in a foreign language must be translated into Ukrainian, and the authenticity of the translator’s signature must be certified by a notary. Documents issued by competent authorities abroad and required for the relevant category of employee must be legalized in accordance with the established procedure, unless an international treaty to which Ukraine is a party provides otherwise.

For seconded employees, intra-corporate transferees, foreign students, and certain other categories, the required set of documents differs. For example, a foreign trade contract, confirmation of the employment relationship with a foreign company, a transfer decision or documents from an educational institution may be required.

This is precisely why a short checklist of five documents cannot be applied mechanically to every foreign national.

Once the situation has been assessed, the employee’s category and the period for which a permit can be issued are determined.

The state fee is then calculated, paid, and only after this is the final set of documents compiled, including proof of payment.

The employer or their authorized representative may submit the documents, for example, in person, via a Center for Administrative Services, by post with a list of contents, or via the employer’s online portal on the State Employment Service website.

Therefore, the current procedure is as follows:

verification of grounds → determination of the duration → preparation of documents → payment → submission → consideration → decision to grant the permit → formalization of the employment relationship.

If the permit is refused, the law provides for a refund of the funds paid by the employer into their current account no later than 10 working days from the date of the refusal decision.

This differs significantly from the old procedure, under which payment was made only after a positive decision was made. This is precisely why it is important to use the current version of the regulations when dealing with permits.

There is no single, universal period here either.

For most foreign employees and gig workers, the permit is issued for the duration of the employment contract, contract, or gig contract, but for no more than 2 years.

For seconded foreign workers, the maximum duration may be up to 3 years — within the term of the relevant foreign economic agreement.

For intra-corporate transferees, a period of up to 3 years is also provided for, provided that the documents meet the established requirements.

For certain individuals undergoing procedures for protection or recognition as stateless persons, the permit is linked to the validity period of the relevant certificate. It may be issued for no more than one year. For international students working in accordance with the law, the permit is valid for the duration of the employment contract, but for no more than one year during their studies.

The employer has the right to apply for a permit for a shorter period.

And this is sometimes entirely reasonable. If a specialist is invited for a six-month equipment installation project, it makes sense to tie the permit duration to the project. However, for a long-term manager or key employee, an excessively short permit will only hasten the need for the next renewal.

The amount of the state fee depends on the duration of the permit and the minimum subsistence level for non-disabled persons, as established by law as at 1 January of the relevant year.

In 2026, this figure will be 3,328 UAH.

Therefore, the fee for the initial issue of a permit is: To extend the permit, the fee is reduced by one subsistence minimum compared with the initial issue for the corresponding period.

• up to and including 6 months – 9,984 UAH;
• more than 6 months up to and including 1 year – 16,640 UAH;
• more than 1 year up to and including 2 years – 26,624 UAH;
• more than 2 years up to and including 3 years – 33,280 UAH.

The employee’s category must also be taken into account. For example, an ordinary foreign employee is eligible for a permit valid for up to two years; therefore, the three-year fee category applies only when the law permits a permit of that duration.

For certain categories specified by law, the issue and renewal of permits are free of charge.

As for the overall cost of employment, the state fee is only one part of it. Additional costs may arise for translations, notarisation, legalization, or an apostille for certain documents, insurance, and visa and immigration procedures.

For the initial issue, the local employment service decides within 7 working days of the application being registered.

For the renewal of a permit or the introduction of amendments to it, the timeframe is up to 3 working days.

This refers specifically to the administrative processing time, not the entire hiring process.

To this must be added the time required to obtain documents from the foreign national, arrange translations, prepare the employment contract and make payments.

If the candidate is still abroad, once the permit has been granted, a visa, travel to Ukraine, and a residence permit may be arranged.

There are also special cases. For example, the issuance or renewal of a permit for nationals of countries that require approval from regional branches of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) may take longer due to this requirement.

It is therefore advisable to plan your recruitment schedule working backward from the desired start date, allowing for a buffer at each stage.

Problems with permits often arise not because of the complexity of the procedure itself, but due to inconsistencies between documents.

Typical situations include an incomplete set of documents, an application not submitted in the prescribed form, inaccurate information, the person submitting or signing the documents lacking the necessary authority, or terms of the employment contract that do not comply with the law.

If there are deficiencies specified by law, the processing of the application may be suspended to allow the employer to rectify them. If the problem is not rectified or there are separate legal grounds for refusal, a decision to refuse is made.

There are also quite common mistakes.

In one document, a name is spelled with an ‘i’, whilst in another it is spelled with a ‘y’. The application states one job title, whilst the employment contract states a slightly different one. The passport translation was prepared earlier for a different procedure and uses a different spelling of the surname.

For the client, this is a minor detail. Regarding the administrative process, there is a discrepancy in the documents.

That is why, at STATUS KO, we check the application package not item by item, but as a single, cohesive whole.

The permit has been obtained. But the procedure is not yet complete.

The employer must enter into an employment contract with the foreign national no later than 90 calendar days after the permit is issued.

Once the contract has been concluded, a copy of the contract, certified by the employer, must be submitted to the local employment service office within 10 days. Failure to submit a copy of the contract when submission is mandatory constitutes grounds for revocation of the permit.

There is another nuance here that is often omitted from brief instructions.

The permit may require amendments if, for example, the employer has changed its name, the foreign national has obtained a new passport or their name has changed, or there is a change in job title or a transfer to another position with the same employer within the permit’s validity period.

The employer must apply for such amendments no later than 30 days after the relevant circumstance arises.

In other words, a work permit is a document that sometimes requires ongoing attention even after it has been issued.

If the employment relationship continues, there is no need to wait until the very last day.

The law sets out a clear timeframe: an application for renewal must be submitted no earlier than 50 calendar days and no later than 20 calendar days before the expiry of the current permit.

The application must be accompanied by a photograph, documents reflecting the changes to the information, and proof of payment of the renewal fee. In other words, the same important principle applies here: payment first, then submission of the application package.

For a single foreign national, checking the date is straightforward.

For a company employing several dozen foreign nationals, it is better to maintain a separate HR register:

employee — passport — permit — residence card — expiry date — start date of renewal preparations.

Otherwise, urgent processing will inevitably arise time and time again.

If a foreign national is abroad and moving to Ukraine specifically for long-term employment, the work permit is usually just one step in the procedure.

Depending on the employee’s nationality and legal status, the subsequent process may look as follows:

work permit → long-term D visa, where required → entry into Ukraine → temporary residence permit.

To apply for a long-term visa for employment, a certified copy of the work permit is one of the documents required under visa regulations.

For a temporary residence permit based on employment, the work permit is also a key document. In addition to this, the passport documents required by the procedure, a translation, a valid health insurance policy, proof of payment of the administrative fee, and a commitment from the employer to notify the State Migration Service and the employment service of any early termination of the employment relationship must be submitted.

An employment-based residence permit is issued for the period of employment specified in the work permit. The standard processing time is 15 working days from the date the documents are accepted. For an initial application, the documents must be submitted no later than 15 working days before the expiry of the foreign national’s authorized period of stay in Ukraine.

And this is where it becomes clear why, right at the start, we asked where the employee is based and how long they plan to live in Ukraine.

The permit, visa and residence permit are not three separate processes. In a specific case, they may form part of a single sequence.

Clients rarely come to us to ‘get a permit’.

Usually, the task is phrased differently.

We need to sort out the paperwork for a foreign director.

Invite several technical specialists from abroad.

Legalize a group of employees for a new project.

To renew the documents of an employee who has been working in Ukraine for some time.

In such situations, the permit is merely a tool for achieving a business outcome.

STATUS KO can guide you through the process from the initial assessment to the subsequent immigration stages. We help determine whether a specific foreign national requires a permit, calculate processing times and government fees, prepare the documents, arrange passport translations, submit the application package, and monitor the permit's issuance and subsequent deadlines.

Where necessary, we continue to process documents for a D visa and a temporary residence permit.

For corporate clients, we can organize batch processing when documents need to be handled simultaneously for several or even several dozen foreign employees.

One of our practical advantages is that translation and legal support are handled within a single process. This is particularly important in immigration matters, where the same passport details are carried over from one document to another, and even a minor discrepancy in spelling can create an unnecessary problem.

We do not offer clients a one-size-fits-all approach regardless of their specific situation. On the contrary, we first determine exactly what needs to be processed, which documents to obtain from the foreign national, and the correct sequence for carrying out the procedures.

If the prospective employee is still abroad, it is best to contact us before tickets are purchased and the start date is finalized. This allows us to calculate timelines calmly and prepare the documents without making rushed decisions.

And if the foreign national is already in Ukraine, we begin by checking their current status and the duration of their lawful stay.

The STATUS KO Translation Center can help arrange a work permit for a foreign national in Ukraine, prepare the necessary translations and, if required, assist with the subsequent processing of visa and immigration documents.

With a well-organized procedure, the client does not need to keep asking, ‘What happens next?’ From the very start, they can see the entire process: which documents are required today, what the next step will be, and when the foreign worker can legally start work in Ukraine.