When is a foreigner's work permit revoked in Ukraine, and what can you do about it?

Revocation, not cancellation

The employment law speaks of revoking (відкликання) a work permit. The word "cancellation" (скасування) was removed from the current text back in 2022, although it still turns up in conversation and on older websites. In applications to the центр зайнятості (employment centre), use "revocation", so that the document reads unambiguously.

A permit is revoked in one of two ways. Either the employer applies to the employment centre itself when the law obliges it to, or the employment centre revokes the permit on its own initiative once it learns of a ground listed in part two of Article 42-10.

When the employer applies

Part one of Article 42-10 requires the employer to apply for revocation in three cases:

Leaving "on good terms" in this way is the safest exit. Revocation on the employer's application creates no bar, neither on a new permit for the same person nor on permits for other foreigners. If the employer does not apply, the employment centre may revoke the permit itself once it discovers these circumstances.

• the employment contract or gig contract with the foreigner has ended;
• for seconded workers, performance of the contract between the Ukrainian and the foreign company has stopped;
• the ДМС (State Migration Service, DMS) has recognised the foreigner as a refugee, a person in need of complementary protection or a stateless person.

When the employment centre revokes the permit

On its own initiative, the employment centre revokes a permit on these grounds:

The decision is taken within three days of the day the information is received or the circumstances are discovered. It is published on the employment centre's website, sent to the employer and reported to the DMS, the border guard service and other bodies.

• the employer did not file a copy of the employment contract within ten days of signing it;
• a decision on forced return or forced expulsion has been taken against the foreigner;
• the foreigner is employed on terms other than those set in the permit, or by another employer, except for lawful secondary employment and combining positions;
• the foreigner did not use the right to appeal a refusal of recognition as a refugee or a stateless person, or that refusal has been finally decided;
• a guilty verdict against the foreigner has entered into force;
• the National Police, the SBU or another authorised body has sent a submission signed by its head;
• the employer has not paid the єдиний внесок (single social contribution) for the foreigner for two months from the date the contract was signed;
• a higher education institution has reported that a foreign student was expelled.

The bar on a new permit

Some grounds for revocation have consequences for the future. If the permit was revoked for work on other terms, a guilty verdict, an unused right of appeal or a final refusal of protection, or a student's expulsion, a new permit for the same person will not be issued for one year. For these grounds the law states expressly that the bar does not extend to other foreigners.

Revocation following a decision on expulsion, a law-enforcement submission or unpaid contributions also blocks a new permit for one year, but the law gives no such clarification. Revocation on the employer's application or for a contract copy not filed creates no bar at all.

Side by side, the grounds compare as follows:

What happens to the residence permit

For a foreigner holding a work-based посвідка (temporary residence permit, TRP), revocation of the work permit means the basis for staying has gone. The employment centre notifies the DMS of the revocation, and the DMS may revoke the TRP by a separate decision, either at the request of the receiving party or because the grounds have ceased. Between these decisions there is a gap, and within it there may be time to obtain a new permit and complete a move to a new employer.

If the foreigner is leaving Ukraine for good, it is better to have the TRP revoked on their own application than to wait for a DMS decision. How to do that is explained in the article on revoking a residence permit.

How to appeal a revocation

A revocation decision is appealed in the same way as a refusal to issue a permit. A complaint goes to the State Employment Centre no later than 15 calendar days from the day the decision is published and the employer notified, or the employer goes to the administrative court. An appeal makes sense when the ground for revocation does not match the facts, for example when the contribution was in fact paid or the contract copy was filed on time.

Lawyer's experience

In my practice the biggest problems come not from revocation itself but from its timing. The employer files the application on the day of dismissal, and the foreigner is left with no time for a new permit. So when a parting of ways can be foreseen, I advise matching the date of the revocation application to the date the new employer receives its permit.

The second trap concerns the single social contribution. The employment centre receives payment data from the Pension Fund automatically. If the accounts department is late with the charges for a new employee, the permit can be revoked, and the TRP suffers along with it. Check the contribution for a foreigner especially carefully in the first months. The reasons a permit is refused in the first place are collected in the article on work permit refusals.

If you need to close a permit properly after dismissal, we handle closing the work permit on the employer's application.

Frequently asked questions