Minimum Wage Increased

At a Glance

The national minimum wage applicable to both local and foreign workers in Azerbaijan has increased to AZN 180, up 38.5 percent from last year.  Despite the significant increase, this has minimal impact since foreign workers typically receive salaries well above this threshold.

The situation

The national minimum wage applicable to both local and foreign workers in Azerbaijan has increased to AZN 180 up 38.5 percent from last year. At the time of publication of this alert, 1 AZN = .59 USD.

A closer look

• Existing employees. Employers of foreign nationals must increase the foreign national’s salary to comply with the new rule.
• Initial and renewal applications. Employers of foreign nationals seeking to obtain or renew work authorization on or after February 1, 2019 must increase the foreign national’s salary to comply with the new rule, if required.
• Pending applications. Employers of foreign nationals with pending work permit applications as of February 1, 2019 must increase the foreign national’s salary to comply with the new rule, if required.

Reminders on other requirements

• Benefits and allowances. As before, benefits and allowances can be included in the minimum salary calculation.

Background

Azerbaijan increased the minimum wage level by 10.5 percent for 2017 and 12.1 percent for 2018. The current significant increase seeks to align the minimum wage with current labor market conditions.

Looking ahead

Immigration authorities in Azerbaijan have been mostly focused on streamlining the visa application system recently, by adding visa exempt and visa-on-arrival-eligible nationals and expanding the e-visa system. Fragomen expects this trend to continue to increase Azerbaijan’s attractiveness to foreign talent.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to emea@fragomen.com.