How can an employer legally hire a foreigner in Ukraine?

What must be ready before the first working day

A foreigner cannot be put to work simply because they have agreed to the job and hold a посвідка (temporary residence permit, TRP). First the employer obtains a дозвіл на застосування праці, the work permit, or makes sure the foreigner belongs to a category that is exempt from it. Who exactly is exempt is covered in the article on exemptions from the work permit.

After that the general rule of the Кодекс законів про працю (Labour Code) applies. Part three of Article 24 forbids letting an employee start work without an employment contract formalised by an order and without notifying the tax service. These three steps must be completed before the first hour of work. For a foreigner they overlap with the permit, and the order of steps is exactly where employers most often go wrong.

The employer's steps in order

For a hired employee the correct sequence looks like this:

Skip the seventh step, and the employment centre will revoke the permit. Swap the fifth and sixth, and the employer is fined for letting someone work before the paperwork was done.

1. 1The employer files a package for the permit with the центр зайнятості (employment centre), including a draft employment contract. What goes into the package is described in the article on [documents for a work permit](/knowledge/work-permit/documents-for-work-permit).
2. 2The employment centre issues the permit.
3. 3The employer and the foreigner sign the employment contract no later than 90 calendar days after the date the permit was issued.
4. 4The employer issues the hiring order.
5. 5The employer files a notice of hiring with the ДПС (State Tax Service). The form has a separate field for citizenship.
6. 6The foreigner starts work.
7. 7Within ten days of signing the contract, a certified copy of it goes to the employment centre.

Requirements for the employment contract

The terms of the contract must comply with labour law, and the employment centre checks them already at the draft stage. The position in the contract has to match the position in the permit. Pay for a fully worked monthly norm cannot be lower than the minimum wage set for the year in question.

Today there are no higher salary requirements for foreigners. The former requirement to pay several minimum wages was abolished in 2022, so a foreigner is subject to the same minimum as a Ukrainian citizen. The principle of equal pay for equal work applies as well.

Where the employer is a ФОП (individual entrepreneur, FOP), a written contract is always mandatory, because the employer is a natural person. The specifics of hiring by an individual entrepreneur are described in the article on work permits when the employer is a FOP.

Obligations while the foreigner works

Once work has started, the employer keeps several obligations that relate specifically to the foreigner:

If the foreigner holds a work-based TRP, the employer already gave an undertaking when that permit was being issued. It promised to inform the ДМС (State Migration Service, DMS) and the employment service if the contract ends early. Breaching these obligations leads to the sanctions described in the article on fines for working without a permit.

• calculate and pay the єдиний внесок (single social contribution, ESV) for the employee every month, because non-payment for two months from the date the contract was signed is a ground for revoking the permit;
• apply for amendments to the permit within 30 days if the position, the company name or the foreigner's passport has changed;
• not use the foreigner in other positions or in other companies of the group without a separate permit;
• watch the permit's term and apply for renewal in time.

When the employee leaves

When the employment contract with a foreigner ends, the employer is obliged to apply to the employment centre to revoke the permit. A revocation at the employer's request creates no obstacles to future permits. If the foreigner is moving to another employer, the date of the application should be agreed with the new employer so that the person does not lose their residence permit. This is covered in detail in the article on changing employer.

Lawyer's experience

The most expensive mistake I see employers make sounds like "let them start today, we will finish the documents later". With a foreigner the mistake counts twice, because work without a permit is added to the labour law breach. That is why I always draw up a short calendar for the employer with the dates of the permit, the contract, the order, the tax notice and the first working day.

Another typical story involves groups of companies. The foreigner is registered with one company but actually works for another, because it is more convenient that way. For the employment centre this is work for a different employer, and the permit is at risk of revocation.

If you are hiring a foreigner for the first time, we handle work permit processing together with guidance on the HR steps leading up to the first working day.

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