How do you renew a foreigner's work permit in Ukraine?

Renewal or a new permit

Renewing a work permit and getting a first one look alike only on the surface. Renewal is possible while the permit is still valid, the employer is the same and the employee stays in the same position. In that case the law allows a shorter package and a lower fee. If even one of these conditions is not met, you are looking at a new permit.

Confusion most often arises with a change of employer. A new employer cannot renew someone else's permit. It obtains its own, and for a foreigner holding a посвідка (temporary residence permit, TRP) this is a separate procedure of moving to a new employer. Conversely, when a client comes to us "for a new permit" with the same employer they already work for, it is almost always a renewal.

When to file the application

A renewal application cannot be filed at any time you like. It goes in within the window set by part two of Article 42-6 of the Law "On Employment of the Population". The window opens 50 calendar days before the permit's expiry date and closes 20 calendar days before it. The expiry date is the one in the "Дійсний до" (valid until) field on the permit. Falling outside the window on either side is a separate ground for refusal under paragraph 2 of part one of Article 42-9.

The two edges of the window are not equal. File too early, and the центр зайнятості (employment centre) may refuse, but the fee goes back to the employer's account and the documents can be filed again on time. Leave it too late, and the renewal is lost for good. After the expiry date there is nothing left to renew, and only a new permit remains.

So count the window from the date printed on the permit itself. Not from the term the client remembers, and not from the term requested in the application. Sometimes the application named a shorter term than the one planned, or the employment contract capped it, and then the window closes earlier than everyone thinks.

What goes into the package

For a renewal the law requires fewer documents than for a first permit (part two of Article 42-2). The employer files an application on the prescribed form, a photo of the foreigner and proof of fee payment. Documents filed earlier are not needed again if nothing in them has changed. The employment centre decides on a renewal within up to three working days.

Where something has changed, documents on the change are added. A typical example is a foreigner who has received a new passport. A copy of the new passport with a translation then goes into the package. A change of position or contract terms is handled as an amendment to the permit, and it is better done before the renewal. Working on terms other than those set in the permit is a ground for revoking it.

How much renewal costs

The renewal fee is lower than the fee for issuing a permit for the same term, by one subsistence minimum. The amount is tied to the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons as of 1 January of the year in which the documents are filed, and it depends on the term for which the permit is renewed. For example, issuing a permit for one to two years costs eight subsistence minimums, which in 2026 comes to UAH 26,624. Renewing for the same term costs one subsistence minimum less. The calculation is covered in more detail in the article on how long a work permit is valid.

Here the most frequent mistake is a simple one. The employer pays the issue fee instead of the renewal fee, or the other way round. A mismatch between the amount on the receipt and the term in the application can lead to the review being suspended, so we check the receipt against the application before filing.

What term the permit is renewed for

For an ordinary employee the permit is renewed within the term of the employment contract, and the new term is up to two years. Seconded workers and intra-corporate transferees may get a longer term, up to three years. The employer may request a shorter term than the maximum, and the employment centre has no right to issue the permit for a term shorter than the one stated in the application.

There is no legal limit on the number of renewals. As long as the employment continues, the permit can be renewed again and again.

What happens to the residence permit

A work-based TRP is issued for the term stated in the work permit. Renewing the work permit therefore raises the question of the TRP straight away. Once the renewed permit has been received, the foreigner files documents with the ДМС (State Migration Service, DMS) to exchange the TRP because its term is running out.

Plan these two steps together. First comes the work permit renewal, then the TRP exchange. How this looks from the DMS side is covered in the article on renewing a residence permit.

Lawyer's experience

When someone comes to us "for a renewal", the first thing I look at is the "Дійсний до" field on the scan of the permit. It happens that the client remembers two years, and even the HR records say two years, while the permit was issued for one year because that is the term the application asked for. By then the window has closed, and instead of a renewal we have to prepare a full package and pay for a new permit.

Another detail scares clients for no reason. On a renewed permit the issue date stays the old one, for example last year's. This is not a mistake by the employment centre but a feature of the form. The new term is shown in the "Дійсний до" field.

Most important of all, from the day after the permit's expiry date the foreigner's work counts as work without a permit, even if the application has already been filed. The employer risks a fine, so the employee is kept away from work for the duration of the gap.

Common mistakes

If you would rather not count the days yourself, we handle work permit renewal from calculating the window to receiving the decision. If renewal is no longer possible, the document list for a first permit is in the article on documents for a work permit.

• Counting the window from the term people remember rather than from the date on the permit.
• Paying the issue fee instead of the renewal fee.
• Leaving out the documents on the foreigner's new passport.
• Applying for renewal after a change of employer, when a new permit is needed.
• Forgetting to exchange the TRP after the work permit is renewed.

Frequently asked questions